Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House
by arukas03
Summary: The death of Voldermort had come at a heavy price, yet it was a price deemed necessary. However it was a price paid by fools as now, the true test for wizard kind is apparent. Heros must return from the dead in order to once again save those they love.HHr
1. Chapter 1

_Rain hammered down onto the half-spherical shape that had once been at the center of Death Eater activity. The orange dome had three years ago consumed Riddle House; which not only allowed no one to see in but also remained solid even under the most powerful spells and attacks._

_Over what had seemed like a long three years to those who knew what was inside, flowers had been laid around a small stone cross that had been erected off to one side of the site. But it had been two months since anyone had bothered to go near Riddle House, the area having been condemned as hazardous as the dome had begun to give off powerful magical emissions that caused irregular heart beats in children… among other things. In those two months the flowers the had been left had decayed and become part of the Earth again, leaving only the once beautiful wrappings they had come in, now shriveled and dirty, as the only sign they had ever been there. In the two months the gardens of Riddle House had descended from being unkempt to being wild, with rose bushes being choked out by wild brambles and grasses. In the two months the world had moved on significantly since the events inside the house had taken place, the death and agony, the heroics and the sacrifices, the battle to end all battles. And after two months of no one paying attention to it, the house had finally finished what it was doing within the dome, and the spell was released… _

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

By arukas

In a large room in the Ministry of Magic, roughly near the top of the underground building, a man sat at a large round table. The table was so large in fact that it covered a good third of the room, the rest of which was filled with desks that belonged to employees. Suddenly the table in the center of the room came to life, lights flashed all over it and a siren wailed. The man nearly fell out of his chair as he scrambled into a more upright position. The table showed an area of terrain, represented by small grains of sand that had formed together to make a hill. Or at least it had been a hill; however now the peak had been smashed out of existence and in its place was a massive crater. All around the landscape was scorched with shards of rock and destroyed trees. Sand also moved off the table into the air and formed together, falling back down as chunks of rock or in waves of ash.

"What in the name of Merlin…" The man muttered as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Table, please show me the events leading up to this." He ordered.

"As you wish." The table replied in a calm voice. The sand fell flat for a moment before reforming in a shape the man hadn't seen in a long while. A large dome sat atop a hill, the garden around it slowly forming with intricate detail as the table went about its work. Just as the details were finished thought, the dome began to quiver slightly. The quivering expanded into ripples that began at the peak of the dome and traveled down. As they reached the ground the gardens around the dome shook too with the force of impact. The without warning the dome simply ceased to exist and in its place lay the smoldering crater.

"Table, what happened to the Riddle Dome!" The man demanded.

"It had disappeared and I am unable to locate it." The table replied. The man looked in disbelief at the scene in front of him. After three years of doing nothing, the damn thing chooses now to just explode?

"There is someone approaching the area at some speed, presumably by broom." The table said, interrupting the man's thoughts. The sand dissolved again, reforming a moment later to depict a man flying low and fast over trees on a broom.

"Shit." The man cursed before running out the door to go inform someone of what he had seen.

Hours later Aurors and other ministry officials swarmed over the crater site, some testing different pieces of rock or soil while others merely surveyed the area to see what had happened.

"It is waayyy too early in the morning for this." Tonks moaned as she stifled a yawn. While she was concerned at the sudden turn of events, surely the crater would still be there in a few hours time?

"Hey Nymphadora, come take a look at this will ya'." A young man called from across the crater. Tonks moaned and rubbed her eyes before walking at a semi-fast pace to where the man was squatted down.

"What is it?" She asked, looking curiously down at what the man was pointing to. It was a piece of green crystal with a smoky appearance. "You called me over for a rock?" Tonks deadpanned.

"Hardly a rock." The man replied. He then motioned for Tonks to move back before he used his wand to clear away the muddy water they were standing in. Tonks' breath was taken away as she saw they were in fact standing on the rock, with still more of it remaining covered by the Earth. As the rain continued to poor Tonks ran over to where the head investigator was standing on the edge of the crater. As she explained what they had found to him, he nodded and apparated away to inform the minister.

As he disappeared, Tonks finally allowed herself to accept the reality of the situation, Riddle House was gone and with it all hope.

In central London, in a smallish but comfortable flat that was home to three cats and one woman, Hermione Granger was awoken by the shrill tone of her phone ringing. She glanced over at her watch that read 3:34 AM, making this possibly the worst time of day for someone to be calling her.

"Hello?" She murmured into the receiver.

"Morning sunshine, sleep well?" Tonks asked cheerily.

"Tonks? Do you know what bloody time it is? Wait a minute… you're using the phone! Since when do you use the phone?" Hermione stammered, her sleep-ridden mind still struggling to be awake let alone comprehend.

"Never mind that now, can you come outsider for a minute?" Tonks asked. Hermione shook her head in an attempt to remove her drowsiness and then massage her left temple.

"Yeah okay, just lemme' put on something warmer." She replied.

"Bring an umbrella too." Tonks added as Hermione hung up the phone. Hermione then half stepped half rolled out of bed and pulled a fluffy dressing gown from her wardrobe. She donned the heavy garment and grabbed her umbrella from the coat rack as she made her way out the door, down the stairs and onto the street below. Sure enough next to a phone booth stood Tonks with her own umbrella held above her head. The rain had eased slightly from the downpour of the earlier hours of the morning and now was merely a soft patter on the protective plastic of the umbrellas.

"So what's so important that you have to wake my up at half past three in the morning?" Hermione moaned, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"There's been an incident… at Riddle House." Tonks said slowly. Hermione suddenly looked serious.

"Give me three minutes to get some clothes on and I'll meet you back here." Hermione replied.

"Be quick, the portkey is due soon." Tonks called after Hermione.

Some way across town a similar scene was playing out, this time however it was Ron who was informing the rest of his family of what had happened.

"Do the Order members know?" Arthur asked, looking around for the floo powder. Ron nodded and handed his dad the jar from the table behind himself.

"We have people notifying them now." He replied. Molly leaned forward and pulled her son into a tight embrace.

"And you wonder why I worry about you being an Auror Ronald." She said softly. "All these horrible places in the world, and you go sticking your nose into all of them."

"We really should get moving, the other members will be waiting for us." Ron said, refusing to reply to his mother's statement.

"You're right, come along Molly, Fred, George, Ginny." Arthur said as he led his family in traveling by floo powder to Grimmauld Place.


	2. Chapter 2

i "We really should get moving, the other members will be waiting for us." Ron said, refusing to reply to his mother's statement.

"You're right, come along Molly, Fred, George, Ginny." Arthur said as he led his family in traveling by floo powder to Grimmauld Place. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

By arukas

Hermione arrived first at Grimmauld Place, with Tonks falling out of the fireplace behind her a moment later. The old house had changed considerably even since she had been to it last a few months ago. While the rooms had steadily improved under the careful decorating ideas of Molly Weasley, it seemed like recently a new kind of life had spread through the house. Order members could be seen coming and going, monitoring the activities of remaining Death Eaters and generally keeping an eye out for any kind of possible dark magic. It was obvious on the faces of all present though how serious the current situation was.

"Long time no see Hermione." Fred called as the Tonks and Hermione entered the meeting room. The twins both sat behind an enormous round table upon which was perched a variety of jugs and glasses with different drinks in them. Also at each place was a scroll with writing and diagrams on it. Obviously Lupin considered this serious enough to call in all the major Order members at once.

"Morning Fred, George." Hermione replied politely before sitting down next to Tonks. The parchment before her posed no real interest to Hermione as she dreamily remembered the day when the dome had erected itself. So many had been lost into it, some even unlucky enough to be cut in two as the dome rapidly hardened around them. Those had been such dark times, did the fall of the dome signal a return to those times. Were the people trapped inside still alive?

Hermione felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder and squeeze softly. She lifted her own hand up and squeezed the friendly hand of Ron Weasley.

"Bloody awful time of day isn't it." Ron said light-heartedly, attempting to ease the tense mood hanging over the room.

"I didn't even know it was still legal to be awake this early." George replied as he firmly shook his brothers other hand, Fred too. Ron then moved away from Hermione and sat next to his brothers. He was keen to be as close to them as possible while he could. The general opinion at the ministry was that the Aurors would be mobilized in large numbers to investigate the possible fall out of what had occurred.

Slowly other Order members trickled in, Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived with Mundungus, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape arrived together and finally Lupin, Molly and Arthur took their seats at the table.

"Well, it's good to see you all again and all looking well." Lupin said after all were seated. Around the table people nodded politely their agreement, though it was obvious several of the people present were not in the mood for pleasantries. "As you know though, this order does not meet for social reasons." Lupin continued. He then nodded to Professor McGonagall who sat forward in her chair.

"In front of all of you is a piece of parchment with all the information we currently have from the ministry and other sources." She began. Hermione could have sworn she saw the old Professor look pointedly at Ron as she said this. "If you'll look at the photo, you'll see the main point of focus in the area has now become the excavation of the large green rock found beneath the crater." McGonagall continued. Hermione looked at the magical photo of wizards moving around the site as the hole grew deeper and large supports were being erected to hold the rock in place.

"Why is the excavation so slow?" Fred asked after a moment. McGonagall nodded as if she had been waiting for someone to ask that question.

"The energy left behind by the dispersion of the dome has rendered all but the simplest spells useless due to the interference. Simply put, there is such intense magical energy humming through the air there now that all but basic spells become dysfunctional when you try to cast them." She explained. Fred nodded and went back to reading the piece of parchment in front of him. Hermione was just about to ask a question but Ron beat her to it.

"Were any bodies found at the crater site?" He asked. Hermione felt her insides tingle as Ron asked the question they were likely all thinking.

"The landscape was completely leveled for a radius of one hundred meters from the center of the explosion, and a search of the area surrounding it has turned up nothing." Tonks said softly. The room seemed to drop in temperature as people shifted in their seats and pretended to be interested in the parchment in front of them.

"It was unreasonable to expect anyone to have survived being inside the house for three years, let alone the explosion." McGonagall said after a while. "We determined that neither water nor air was going into the dome and the food supply could not possibly last that long." Again the room fell silent as the weight of the recent events sunk down upon the Order members. The funerals for those inside Riddle House had been held almost two years ago, at which point all but the faintest of hopes had been given up on. And now the violent explosion of the dome had destroyed even the wildest dreams of survivors walking out of the house and into the arms of loved ones.

"So does someone wanna explain to me what the point of this meeting is? We could have found this out through the papers tomorrow." Ron said coldly. Hermione sighed as he spoke, not in anger but in sadness. Ever since the battle of Riddle House he had been this way. His normally kind and old-fashioned ways had been warped and changed by whatever he had seen in there and he was left much more cold and business-like. Hermione could only guess though what it must have been like inside. She had been kept out at the last minute, unable to follow her friends into that hell on Earth…

"In short it is the rock that concerns us Ronald." McGonagall scolded. Ron didn't react though, merely waited for McGonagall to continue. This had been another noticeable change in him since that day. "We know for a fact that the rock did not exist there when the dome was created three years ago. We also know that the rock is not merely a massive precious gem."

"Isn't this something better suited to muggle geologists rather than us?" Hermione asked. McGonagall nodded, again like she was expecting the question. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling the Professor McGonagall was becoming more like Dumbledore had been.

"The rock, Miss Granger, is emitting a low resonance caused by the drawing in of tremendous natural magical energy." McGonagall explained.

"So it's… basically sucking the life outta the world around it?" Kingsley asked. McGonagall nodded, "You could put it that way yes." She answered.

The meeting continued on for a few more minutes and ended with the assigning of tasks to each member. They were however to all operate in secret, as the Ministry of Magic had not condoned their taking action.

"It is my personal belief that they are hiding something important about this rock from the public and I wish to know about it." McGonagall said. "Weasleys, this will be your task to investigate." Ron and Arthur nodded.

"Miss Granger, I want you and Nymphadora to go to the Grand Library in London and search through historical texts to try and find out if this rock came from somewhere or was created by whatever made the dome." McGonagall continued. Hermione and Tonks nodded and stood to leave as McGonagall continued to dole out tasks to the other members.

"Trust me to get grouped with Hogwarts' greatest ever bookworm." Tonks joked. Hermione gave a half-hearted smile in return as the two women pulled on their coats.

"Hermione?"

Hermione turned around and looked at Ron who was standing down the hall from her.

"Yeah?" She asked. There was a long silence before Ron spoke again as he seemed to choose his words carefully.

"I'm glad its finally resolved, even if it did have to turn out this way." He said slowly. Hermione nodded, a slight hint of a scowl on her face as she did. It was not one of anger though, merely a convenient defense to keep her composure. There would be time later in the day to be sad.

"Good luck Ron." Hermione said. Ron nodded and left for the fireplace without another word. Tonks briefly considered saying something to Hermione but decided against it as she followed the other woman out the door. Bonds of such a magnitude being broken was not something she could even think of how to fix.


	3. Chapter 3

i "Hermione?"

Hermione turned around and looked at Ron who was standing down the hall from her.

"Yeah?" She asked. There was a long silence before Ron spoke again as he seemed to choose his words carefully.

"I'm glad its finally resolved, even if it did have to turn out this way." He said slowly. Hermione nodded, a slight hint of a scowl on her face as she did. It was not one of anger though, merely a convenient defense to keep her composure. There would be time later in the day to be sad.

"Good luck Ron." Hermione said. Ron nodded and left for the fireplace without another word. Tonks briefly considered saying something to Hermione but decided against it as she followed the other woman out the door. Bonds of such a magnitude being broken was not something she could even think of how to fix. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

By arukas

Hermione and Tonks each flipped through dusty tomes in a back corner of the library. The two women had been reading for almost four hours straight now though, and Tonks for her part was beginning to feel a little worse for wear.

"Argh I didn't become an Auror to read books all day." She moaned, rubbing her eyes with the balls of her palms. Hermione frowned but did not look up from the book she was reading, something that made Tonks twitch slightly with annoyance. "Come on Hermione, let's take a break already." She pleaded. Hermione made a slight move to look at her watch before shaking her head and continued to flick through the book.

"You can go if you want, I'm gonna stay here." Hermione replied quietly. Tonks muttered under her breath something about respect for others wishes before sitting back down in her chair and folding her arms.

"Hermione, why can't you just let it go?" She asked. There was a moments silence before Hermione turned another page.

"Let what go?" She asked. Tonks sighed and put her feet up on the table, gently rocking back on her chair as she did.

"We all miss him Hermione, and it certainly wasn't fair… but we've all moved on." Tonks said.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about." Hermione replied curtly. Tonks' face darkened and a scowl crossed her lips.

"He's dead Hermione, as sad as it is Harry Potter died inside that dome. Even if he survived fighting You-kn… Voldemort, there was no food or water going into that building for three u whole /u years." Tonks stood up as she finished talking and walked to the other side of the table. "Now I am going to get something to eat and a cup of coffee, are you coming?" She asked. Again there was silence.

"No." Hermione replied.

"Fine then!" Tonks cried as she pivoted on her heel and began to march towards the library's exit. Before she could take more then four steps though, a high-pitched squealing filled the air, shortly followed by the whole building shaking on its foundations.

"What the hell is this!" Tonks demanded. She looked at Hermione, but the other girl just shrugged.

"Come on." Hermione said, leading the way out the front of the library and into Diagon Alley.

The street outside had turned to chaos as people picked themselves up off the ground and stood up stalls and signs in front of shops.

"Was that... an earthquake?" Tonks asked in bewilderment.

"Seems unlikely in central London…" Hermione replied, scanning the surrounding streets. In her pocket though her hand gripped her wand tightly. Could it be too much of a coincidence, surely there was another explanation.

"Do you think it could have anything to do with the green rock?" Hermione asked, giving voice to her fears. Tonks scratched the back of her head and shrugged.

"Who knows? Could be anything." She said. Suddenly the high-pitched squeal echoed down the alley again, followed by a sight like nothing either girl had ever seen before. The creature that flew down the street towards them was roughly humanoid in shape and had gray leathery skin all over its body. It also had two large wings on its back enabling it to fly towards them. What was most terrifying about it though was its head. Hermione has originally thought the creature must have been a wayward gargoyle or a cliff ghast… but the creature had no eyes! Its head had no features other than the mouth full of teeth which seemed to be permanently open! The creatures skull was the least human part about it, with the mouth being the only part of it to face forwards. The rest of the head sloped back into a long ridged almost cylindrical shape. As it moved it emitted a horrible high-pitched squeal that caused windows to shatter as it passed them.

"Merlin, what the hell is that thing nerd girl?" Tonks asked as she drew her wand. While upset for the briefest of moments at Tonks' snide remark Hermione quickly let it pass and drew her own wand.

"I have u no /u idea." She replied.

"Let's just kill it then." Tonks cried, sending a series of curses at the mystery beast. It evaded though, rolling to the right and soaring up the side of a building. Again it let out an ear-piercing squeal, causing the brick face of the shop to crack in places. "You gotta be kidding me!" Tonks complained as she ran to the other side of the street, watching with angry eyes as the creature circled around above them. Suddenly it vanished, leaving Tonks staring at the place it had been.

"It just… did it just…" She was cut off however as a large shop sign crashed through the window behind her. Tonks dived down and rolled, coming up in a crouch and fire curse after curse at the creature as it banked up again.

"Hermione! Help me!" Tonks called angrily at the other girl who stood motionlessly out the front of the library. The voice shook Hermione from her stupor and she too let loose a volley of spells at the creature. It was continuously saved though, its maneuvering was unbelievable to watch as it banked and rolled its way around spells, opting to disappear and re-appear at times too. Then its flight pattern changed and its head snapped in the direction of the other end of the street. The creature let out another tremendous squeal as it took of towards the North end of Diagon Alley.

"Where's it going to now?" Tonks called to no one in particular as she gave chase.

Hermione followed Tonks down the street, struggling to keep pace with the other woman. It was times like these she wished she were athletic like Ginny. Something caught her eye though as she ran. A man covered by a flowing black cloak stood at the end of the street. Didn't he see what was coming towards him?

"Whose that down there!" Hermione called to Tonks. The other woman just shook her head.

"He's no Auror I know." She replied. The creature seemed to be making a beeline for the man, who still stood calmly. Again the creature squealed, this time causing the glass windows of several shop fronts to explode into dangerous shards. Hermione and Tonks both skidded to a halt to avoiding being hit.

"Oh jeez!" Tonks cried. Suddenly the man moved, drawing two wands from inside his robes. One he pointed at the creature while the other he began to make a complicated movement pattern with by his side. The creature was barely ten meters away when the man cried out "Salios Temporus!"

The creature then came to an instant stop, just two meters before the man. Its wings twitched and it seemed to struggle to move its head but the creature was indeed completely immobile. It hung in the air like some twisted mobile.

"Finite Eternal." The man then said, raising the wand he had held at his side. The creature changed color suddenly from gray to black, then to white before it disappeared completely. The man then lowered both his wands, his arms once again concealed within his robes.

"You say he's not an Auror?" Hermione asked. Tonks nodded slowly, she was in awe of what the man had done so simply it seemed. "Well I'm going to go over and talk to him." Hermione said as she purposefully strode forward to meet the man who had used two spells she herself had failed to master. As she drew closer though she stopped in shock. Across the man's eyes he wore a piece of what looked to be silk cloth, covering his eyes completely. Was he blind? Had a blind man defeated the creature? But before Hermione could ask anything of him, he turned his head to her and nodded before apparating away. In that moment though Hermione could have sworn she had seen it. Beneath the messy black hair and above the dirty and ragged silk fabric… a lightening bolt-shaped scar.


	4. Chapter 4

i Beneath the messy black hair and above the dirty and ragged silk fabric… a lightening bolt-shaped scar. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

By arukas

At Grimmauld Place, Hermione abandoned her bathrobe and slipped into the warm water. Part of Mrs. Weasley's decorating ideas had been to improve the look and feel of the bathrooms. Hermione realized now what a great job she had done as she allowed herself to sink low into the water and bubbles. She could not close her eyes though, for as soon as she did horrible images would play across her mind's eye. The creatures mouth open and hungry… the scar that adorned the man's head. Had it been him? Surely there couldn't be too many people in the world with that scar? She had seen it so often and from so close that she didn't think she could ever mistake it. Of course the news had not been received well that she thought the man had been Harry. There had been pitying looks and even one or two of scorn but no one had seemed to believe her. Just as Hermione was about to allow herself to sink all the way under the water when she heard a knock at the door.

"Hermione, can I come in?" Ginny asked. Hermione sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yeah sure." She replied. The bathroom door opened just wide enough for Ginny to squeeze in before the red haired girl quickly shut it again. There was a faint tinge of red across her cheeks, likely her blushing, as she realized Hermione was sitting in the bath. However it quickly faded, the two girls having spent so much time together they each considered the other like a sister. "Is something wrong?" Hermione asked curiously as Ginny wandered over to the vanity and leant against it.

"That man today… was it really Harry?" She asked softly. Hermione felt a lump form in her throat and swallowed hard to dry dislodge it.

"He had the scar, right where it should be." She relied. Right where she remembered it to be…

"You don't think… you could have possibly been mistaken?" Ginny asked after a while. Hermione sighed and played with the bubbles in her hands as she thought about her response.

"He had the same black hair, the same lightning bolt scar and he even…" She stopped speaking as the memory played across her mind.

"He even what?" Ginny asked.

"He even nodded at me, as if he knew me." Hermione finished, remembering the expression on the man's face as he looked at her. "Except that the man he…" Again Hermione trailed off.

"Except what, Hermione what is it?" Ginny asked, more persistent now then she had been. Hermione washed the bubbles from her hands and splashed water on her face.

"The man, he wore a bandage across his eyes as if he were blind." Hermione replied. Ginny frowned in thought as she surveyed Hermione's expression. There was the soft hint of a smile on the older girl's features, something Ginny hadn't seen for the last few days.

"You really think it was him?" Ginny asked as she stood to leave. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know what to think." She replied. Ginny nodded and opened the door.

"There's a meeting starting in twenty minutes, you should be there." And then she left.

"It's a most interesting turn of events." McGonagall said as she finished listening to the report from Hermione and Tonks. Between the two girls they had covered all they could remember about the incident in Diagon Alley, including their encounter with the strange man. Hermione had tried to remain as neutral as possible when describing the man, knowing that it was likely the only person in the room who believed her that it was Harry was Ginny. And even Ginny still seemed skeptical. Heck, even Hermione herself had her doubts about what she had seen. Three years, Harry would have had to survive for three years by himself in that house. In there with him had been Death Eaters, dragons and Voldemort himself. Not to mention there had been no food or water for him to live on… it was impossible.

"I think we should call it a night. I'd like to see you all here again tomorrow morning at ten in the morning for another meeting and new assignments." Remus said as he concluded the meeting. The Order members left one by one until Hermione finally pulled her thoughts together and left herself. On the way out Mrs. Weasley stopped her and placed in her hands some kind of dish covered in a cloth.

"Here, for your dinner tonight." She said. "Please Hermione, try not to be to sad." Mrs. Weasley continued. Her eyes pleaded with Hermione, causing the younger witch to feel a great deal of sympathy for her. Harry had become like another son to Mrs. Weasley and the loss of him had hit her very hard. Hermione remembered how she had done nothing more than cry for days on end when the attempts to break into the dome had been labeled as futile and called off.

"I'll try Mrs. Weasley." Hermione replied before thanking her for the pie and stepping out the front door. The rain that had held off all day had started to fall lightly and Hermione cursed the weather, mainly for lack of anything else to take her frustration out on. She then took a quick glance around before apparating home to her apartment.

Hermione fumbled with her keys at the door of her apartment, the rain now pouring heavily outside. She was thankful for the small awning that was protecting her from the rain that would surely drench her to the bone in seconds. Finally she unlocked the door and stepped inside, enjoying the warmth of her central heating. The apartment was costing her most of her paycheck each week but it was well worth it. The rooms were sizeable, warm and comfortable, the bathroom was clean and new and the location was convenient for walking to the shops.

Crookshanks came out from behind the couch and rubbed against Hermione's legs, mewing softly as he welcomed her home Hermione smiled down at her aging cat and picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

"Merlin Crookshanks, you wouldn't believe the day I've had today." She said as she scratched his tummy. Crookshanks made a face that said he would listen to anything she wanted to say as long as she would scratch his tummy some more. Then Hermione heard something, Crookshanks obviously heard it too as his head turned in the same direction. It had sounded like two flat objects connecting softly… like a book cover being closed. Drawing her wand Hermione walked slowly into through her house in the direction of her study. The door was pulled too and a light was on inside. Hermione cursed in her head, this was not something she wanted to deal with now. Did people have no respect for what wasn't theirs? But then again, how had the burglar gotten in? No windows were broken, the door was still locked and she even lived on the third floor! How had anyone gotten in? Maybe it was another wizard or witch? Hermione now gulped as fear began to creep into her mind. Surely if it were one of her friends checking on her they would have waited in the sitting room rather than ruffling through her things in the study! Hermione's grip on her wand tightened as she reached the door and lent against the wall outside. She could hear someone breathing softly inside and flipping through pages. Suddenly there was another noise, it sounded like the chair moving backwards on the carpet. Whoever was in there was taking the time to sit down and read through the books she had on her shelf. What could they possibly be looking for? Swallowing her fear Hermione prepared herself as best she could. If it really were another witch or wizard, she would have to be prepared for anything. Taking one last deep breath, Hermione shoved the door open and pointed her wand at the room's occupant. As she saw who was standing before her though, she dropped Crookshanks who meowed in protest as he unceremoniously landed on the ground and scampered off. Hermione's heart beat faster and faster as her mind reeled in vain, trying to understand what she was seeing.


	5. Chapter 5

i As she saw who was standing before her though, she dropped Crookshanks who meowed in protest as he unceremoniously landed on the ground and scampered off. Hermione's heart beat faster and faster as her mind reeled in vain, trying to understand what she was seeing. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

By arukas

"I wondered how long you planned to stand outside the door for."

Hermione shook from head to foot as she stared at the man from earlier that day. He still wore the same black cape that concealed most of his body from sight. He had the hood pulled down, allowing Hermione an easy view of his face. The bandage around his eyes seemed to be one piece of material. It was ripped along the edges and had definitely seen better days; blood, sweat and dirt had stained it beyond any cleaning. But most noticeable on him was where here eyes were fixed now, the scar on his forehead. The perfect lightning bolt was etched from his hairline right down to where it disappeared behind the top of the bandage.

"Harry? Is that you?" Hermione asked cautiously. The man didn't even acknowledge that she'd said anything as he picked up a book of the desk.

"Can I borrow this?" He asked. Hermione's brain stalled as she tried to figure out how to react to this. Reading the cover, she realized it was a book on shielding spells.

"Uh, yeah sure." She said after a moment. The man smiled warmly, showing two rows of near perfect teeth.

"Thanks, I'll bring it back tomorrow." He said.

"Wait a minute!" Hermione cried, but he had already apparated from the room.

Slowly Hermione's heartbeat slowed down again until she slumped down into her office chair and cried softly to herself. Had he not heard her, or was the question not something he wanted to answer? The more she saw of him the more she was convinced he really was Harry. But still the nagging doubt persisted. Maybe he had just played along with her so he could take the book? Maybe he had said he would bring it back tomorrow so she would let him have it? But then again… maybe she really would get to see him again tomorrow. She decided this was something she could not think about on an empty stomach and made her way back to the kitchen where she popped Mrs. Weasley's quiche into the microwave for a minute. Crookshanks returned warily, obviously still holding a grudge for being dropped earlier. Hermione didn't much care what her cat thought at that moment though as she opened his food tin and fed him with a wave of her wand. She then pulled her re-heated quiche out of the microwave and stuck her fork into it. It tasted good, as all of Mrs. Weasley's cooking did.

"What could he possibly want with a shielding spell book?" Hermione mused as she chomped on mouthful after mouthful. She surprised herself with how hungry she was. "You're going to get fat if you keep eating like such a horse Hermione." She sighed to herself. At that moment as she talked to herself, her apartment had never seemed so lonely.

That night there had been another incident with the same kind of creature. Tonks knew this because she was reading the paper as she walked down one of the many ministry hallways that morning. On the front cover of the paper one of the creatures flew around in an endless loop above terrified people. The picture alone was enough to make Tonks cringe at how ugly and indeed terrifying the creatures were. Meeting one of them had been enough, only now it seemed they were going to be forced to control them as a new threat. At least so far they had only targeted areas where magical people congregated. Tonks opened the door she was walking towards and stepped through it onto the dig-site surrounding where Riddle House had once been. Now the imposing site of the half excavated green rock greeted her. It had been the Minister's idea to allocate the site its own doorway; such was the considered importance of excavating this thing as soon as possible.

"Morning Tonks." Someone called from a tent doorway. Tonks waved from behind her paper as she made her way over to the man in charge of the dig, none other than Charlie Weasley. He had been a rather spontaneous choice but it was decided his expertise with disarming traps would be useful when approaching something like the former site of the Riddle House.

"Morning Charlie." Tonks said, finally folding away the paper.

"It's started to pulse." Charlie replied in a very serious tone. Tonks' cheery manner faded as she looked up at the half dug out green rock. They had excavated down sixty-five meters already with no sign on the bottom. SO far the rock was roughly cylindrical in shape with a cone shaped end. It was sixty meters in diameter as well, making it a very imposing sight. Sure enough the rock was giving a gentle pulse about once every five seconds as Charlie had said. "We think the pulsing is what is causing all the magical interference and causing our spells to be ineffective." Charlie continued. Tonks nodded, a frown spreading across her face.

"Hence why excavation is taking so long?" She asked. Charlie nodded and took a sip from a cup of coffee he had sitting on a jutting out rock. The two of them stood and stared at the rock for a long while until Tonks broke the silence. "So does it have a name yet?" She asked. Charlie nodded again.

"We're calling it the Riddle Stone, seeing as we found it here of all places." He replied. Tonks smiled, the name was a good one considering how confusing the rock was proving. "So any word as to why the ministry wants this thing dug up so fast?" Charlie asked. Tonks looked around before signaling for Charlie to lean closer.

"Word from a friend of mine who's an aid to one of the higher ups is that they think it has potential as a massive source of magical energy. They think they could possibly harness it as a means to cast more powerful spells or even as a weapon." Tonks explained. Charlie looked concerned as she mentioned the part about it being possibly used as a weapon, but Tonks noticed the cool exterior he always wore slide back into place quickly. She held a great deal of respect for Charlie Weasley, although it seemed he always knew more than he was letting on.

"The last thing this world needs is another weapon." Charlie said. Tonks found herself agreeing with him, though she kept quiet about her thoughts. There seemed to be something very strange about this whole situation. For her there were just far too many questions surrounding this whole issue; most important of all of them being, "Makes a guy wonder where the fuck this thing came from." Charlie said, as if he had read the thought straight out of Tonks' head.

"Yeah…" Tonks replied.

At her apartment, Hermione hid her face under the blankets of her bed. The sun had finally emerged after days of rain and shone in through the window, reminding Hermione that she would have to get up and go to work very soon. She was currently working at the local library while she waited for her transfer papers to go through. Everything at the ministry seemed to take a long time, even transferring from one department to the other. Her original choice of Muggle Relations had been far too boring even by her standards and she had now opted for the more challenging Curses and Charms Removal Department. Still though, even those jobs weren't really what she had wanted for herself. It was as if her life had been put on hold while the dome had been up. She had stopped her aspirations while she awaited the outcome of it. The sun trying to drag her out of bed was just another timely reminder of how many days just like this that she'd spent waiting for something to happen. Only now that something had happened, Hermione still felt lost.

After several more minutes of struggle she finally gave in to the persistent light and got out of bed, heading for the shower very shortly afterwards. The future wasn't something that puzzled her often though.

"I'd never even though about it until now." Hermione mused to herself as she flipped off her pajamas and turned on the water. It had really only been today, when she was finally free of waiting, that she truly considered what the future would hold. "Ugh why am I torturing myself like this?" She complained to the mirror as she examined her skin for any spots that may have come up over night. The water ran hot at last and she stepped under, enjoying the momentary lack of thinking that came from such a pleasant feeling. But Hermione wasn't the kind of person who could stop thinking for long and soon enough her thoughts turned back to the future. She knew the real reason why this was suddenly so vivid to her, thought she was scared to admit it even to herself. The man would return the book today she hoped, and Hermione was determined to get some answers from him. Then finally the past might lie at rest.


	6. Chapter 6

i But Hermione wasn't the kind of person who could stop thinking for long and soon enough her thoughts turned back to the future. She knew the real reason why this was suddenly so vivid to her, thought she was scared to admit it even to herself. The man would return the book today she hoped, and Hermione was determined to get some answers from him. Then finally the past might lie at rest. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

By arukas

Hermione and Ginny sat in the front room of Grimmauld Place later that day, Hermione having finished work a couple of hours ago. The two girls seemed to have an unspoken agreement to avoid all heavy subjects at least for the time being. They talked about Hermione's job and Ginny's possible future career in Quidditch. They were safe topics, things that neither of them would argue a point on.

"Hermione? When did you get here?" Ron asked as he entered the room. Both girls looked up and Hermione smiled at Ron.

"Only about half an hour ago. I finished work for the day and figured I may as well come here as go home, what with the meeting being in a few minutes." She said. Ron nodded and smiled, something Hermione had learned to cherish recently. Ron rarely smiled anymore; it was only at the happiest possible moments or when he briefly forgot about the rest of life that he smiled. His job as an Auror seemed to have really taken something from him that was never going to come back. It often made Hermione wonder what he saw on a day-to-day basis, what she was missing out on understanding.

"I can't stay long myself." Ron replied. "I have more work to do tonight so I hope the meeting is quick."

Hermione nodded and stood up. "Well shall we go in and sit down then?" She asked, leading the way out of the room.

Moments later the last of the Order members were seated and all looking expectantly at Remus. The aging leader of the Order quietly shuffled several pieces of parchment in front of himself before looking up and speaking.

"As you all probably know the excavation of the Riddle Stone is continuing to receive a lot of resources from the Ministry of Magic. We believe this is because they want to use it as either a new source of magical power or as a weap…" Remus stopped mid-sentence as he looked over the heads of those at the table, his mouth hanging open slightly. Hermione turned in her chair and her own mouth opened wide. In the doorway stood the man, cape, blindfold and all. In his hand was a book that Hermione recognized as the one he had borrowed. Suddenly out of the corner of her vision Hermione saw Ron jump to his feet and whip out his wand.

"Who are you? How on Earth did you get in here!" He demanded. The man looked over at him, or at least Hermione assumed he was doing what passed for a blind man looking at someone. It was strange though, if he was blind why was he looking at Ron at all.

"Ron this is him, this is the guy who defeated that creature." Hermione interjected, rising to her feet as she did. Ron looked at Hermione out of the side of his eye, his wand however remained pointed at the man.

"I need to return this book to Hermione." The man said calmly. He didn't seem especially worried by the situation. Hermione mused that maybe it was a perk of being blind. But something didn't add up… how did a blind man read a book!

"This is the guy you think is Harry?" Ron asked, anger starting to creep into his tone. Hermione felt ever pair of eyes in the room fix on her. She nodded after a moment, slowly becoming more sure of herself as she looked at the man. The scar was right, the black hair, the skin tone, the way he stood. Hermione found herself remembering every little detail about how Harry had been and how much this man was like him.

"He certainly does look like Potter." Professor McGonagall said, looking over her spectacles at the man who was remaining oddly quiet.

"That isn't Harry." Ron said coldly. The conviction in his voice startled Hermione.

"How can you say that?" She demanded, taking a step forward. For his part the man remained oddly quiet.

"Because Hermione, Harry James Potter died in my arms three years ago shortly before the barrier erected itself." Ron said. Hermione suddenly felt her head spin and the whole word lost focus. Ron had never said anything like this… he'd known Harry to be dead all along but hadn't said anything? The weeks and eventual months of trying and hoping, the enormous pain of having to give up all but the faintest of hopes and Ron has known Harry to be dead all along?

"Why didn't you…" Hermione began.

"I couldn't, I tried more than once but could never say it." Ron said calmly. The tone of his voice never did not waver, nor did his wand arm as it remained pointed at the man. "Voldemort his Harry one too many times, the injuries were too much for him. I didn't want to believe it myself, I wanted to close my eyes and ignore the fact that my best friend in all the world had died." He explained. Hermione could barely believe what she was hearing. It suddenly all became so much clearer to her. Ron's coldness towards the world wasn't because he was an Auror, something deep within him had died that day along with Harry.

"Are you… are you sure?" Hermione asked, looking from the still silent man to Ron and back again. Ron nodded grimly.

"His heart stopped beating, his eyes closed and he went limp in my arms." Ron said coldly. The description sent chills down Hermione's spine. It was no wonder Ron had become so cold, the mere thought of such and event was enough to make Hermione feel so alone in the world. "This man is just someone who looks like him Hermione. Why he could even be an enemy spy for all we know." Ron continued. More of the Order members were on their feet now, several with wands in hand. Hermione had no idea how to react to what was going on. Part of her wanted to defend this man as Harry despite what Ron was saying. She didn't want to let go of hope, to admit that someone she cared about so much was gone. It was just too painful. Every alarm in her head told her to just fall on the floor and cry long and hard for her loss and foolishness. The dead should just be left to lie dead, hope only brought pain.

"Now I'll ask you again, who are you and what are you doing here?" Ron demanded of the man. There was a thick silence over the room as the man walked forward slowly and placed the book down on the table. Ron's wand followed him to the table and back again as the man returned to his original position.

"You're right Ron, Harry Potter did die three years ago inside Riddle House." The man said. Immediately all the wands in the room were pointed at the man. Hermione took some comfort in knowing she was not the only person who had held out hope against everything. "But his spirit lived Ron, and that was enough for him to come back." The man finished.

Sorry for the chapter being so short, but I need to update it now to keep readers happy. Time has been tight lately so I haven't gotten much writing done.


	7. Chapter 7

i "You're right Ron, Harry Potter did die three years ago inside Riddle House." The man said. Immediately all the wands in the room were pointed at the man. Hermione took some comfort in knowing she was not the only person who had held out hope against everything. "But his spirit lived Ron, and that was enough for him to come back." The man finished. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

by arukas

The room was silent as everyone stared at Ron, then at the man, then at Ron again.

"Don't you come in here and disgrace his memory!" Ron cried, anger spilling over and consuming his normally cold and calm exterior. Hermione mused for a moment that the old Ron was showing himself again. The man seemed unfazed by Ron's comment though as he continued to stand still, his face devoid of all emotion except for a calm smile that didn't reach past his lips. It was like he was smiling only as a façade, something Hermione remembered Harry doing all too often in the months leading up to the final battle. "How can you be so sure this isn't Harry?" She asked, looking at the man as she spoke. Ron looked grim.

"Because, in the final battle Harry Potter lost his left a…" Ron suddenly stopped talking and everyone in the room let out a collective gasp as the man raised his arm out from inside the protection of his cloak. The shirt he wore was sleeveless and allowed the arm to be easily seen. From the shoulder the arm continued down almost six inches before cold black metal plates cut off the flesh. The arm itself was the right shape and size and the metal appeared to have been made by a true master craftsman. However it was just that, a metal arm replacing where the man's left one should be. It was black and made of metal plates that rotated around each other as it moved. There were intricate gold patterns traced down and around the different plates, some connecting and others looking like they would connect to other lines when the arm moved. The man made no sound as he held the arm straight out in front of him for all to see, however the smile had faded from his face. In its place was a scowl Hermione had come to associate with Ron.

"Merlin…." Fred and George whispered at the same time as they too stared.

"Harry?" Remus asked, standing up from his place at the table. The man's smile returned slightly and he lowered his arm again.

"Alright Remus?" He asked softly.

Hermione couldn't stand it anymore as she burst into tears and flung her arms around Harry. He had been alive, he had visited her rather than anyone else and now here he was standing with them all. Hermione felt the cool touch of his black metal arm trace over the lines of her face as Harry hugged her back gently.

"Harry." Ron said, suddenly bringing Hermione back from her own little world. She realized what she was doing and released Harry, allowing him to turn slightly to look at Ron. As she too looked at Ron she was shocked to find him with tears welling in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry mate, I didn't want to leave you there!" He cried, tears now flowing freely down his face. "I… I wanted to carry you out, bring you back here so we could all say goodbye. But I couldn't, I could barely walk and I just couldn't lift you." Ron continued. Hermione's heart panged, as she suddenly understood the guilt Ron must have harbored for the past three years. As he saw it he had abandoned his best friend in that place. And for Ron, someone whose life was so focused on friends and family, that could only have seemed unforgivable in his eyes. "And I'm sorry I kept it to myself. It was wrong.. I just didn't know how to say it." Ron finished. Harry reacted slowly; first he ran his right hand, the one that was still his own, through his hair and then he sighed. What he did next though was completely unexpected as he walked over to Ron and punched him in the face. Ron stumbled back and looked up at Harry, the emotional hurt clearly showing on his face.

"Do you feel better now Ron? I can't hate you for what you did; it was the right thing to do. But if it makes you feel better, I'll blame you just for a few moments so you can enjoy a little self pity." Harry said. The tension in the room was tangible as the silence became heavy. Hermione gulped as she watched the two men face off against each other. Then Ron's face softened and he laughed, softly at first but soon he was holding his sides as he laughed so hard. Harry joined him and the two friends shook hands vigorously. There was a collective sigh around the room, followed by Ginny shoving her brother out of the way so she too could hug Harry. Then Mrs. Weasley stood before Harry, a hand covering her mouth as she ran her fingers over the bandage that covered Harry's eyes, then down to where his arm became the cold black metal. Emotions were running high in the room as everyone wanted to say something and just enjoy having Harry back among them after so long of thinking him dead.

"Do you think a guy could get something to eat and a warm bath?" Harry finally asked. "Of course dear, I'll fix you something right away." Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as she pushed her way to the kitchen. After Mrs. Weasley had left Harry smiled at everyone before turning himself and heading upstairs. There were several concerned and interested looks as everybody seemed to wonder at once how a blind man would be able to move around freely, however Harry showed no signs of needing help as he walked very normally up the stairs of Grimmauld Place.

Later in the day Hermione sat outside the bathroom door, her back leaning against the wall and her legs tucked up to her chest. She could hear Harry moving around in the bathroom, doing what she wasn't sure. She had heard the bath water empty almost ten minutes ago and was becoming curious as to what he could be doing for so long in there. Just as she was about to call out to him though the door opened and he stepped out.

"Uh, hey Hermione." He said, obviously slightly surprised to see her sitting there. Hermione gave an embarrassed smile and stood up.

"Feeling better?" She asked, giving her best friendly smile at the same time. Harry returned the smile she was giving him, making her heart warm slightly.

"For sure. It's been a while since I've been nice and clean." Harry replied. There was then a long silence between the two as both stood very still. Hermione knew she was staring at Harry and could only guess he would be doing the same were the bandages not over his eyes. At this point she also noticed that he had replaced the old bandages with clean white ones.

"I've missed you so much Harry." Hermione finally said, sadness weighing heavy in her voice. Harry gave her a sad smile in response and pulled her into gentle hug. Hermione choked back the tears that threatened to fall and enjoyed the warmth Harry was giving off, likely because of his recent bath but still it was comforting all the same.

"I missed you too Hermione." Harry replied


	8. Chapter 8

i "I've missed you so much Harry." Hermione finally said, sadness weighing heavy in her voice. Harry gave her a sad smile in response and pulled her into gentle hug. Hermione choked back the tears that threatened to fall and enjoyed the warmth Harry was giving off, likely because of his recent bath but still it was comforting all the same.

"I missed you too Hermione." Harry replied. /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

by arukas

At the excavation site, Tonks tapped her foot impatiently as a hastily constructed elevator lowered her down the chasm that led to the bottom of the giant Riddle Stone. Excavation had continued non-stop since the stone had been discovered, something Tonks couldn't help being suspicious about. Still though, she couldn't complain about a case she was working on actually getting ample funding for once.

"Almost there now." The engineer murmured as the elevator slowed slightly. The Riddle Stone, or what had been excavated of it so far, sunk over one hundred and fifty metres into the ground. Its diameter had remained roughly the same and still it possessed the unnatural smoothness of the dome that adorned its peak.

"Do we have any idea how much further this thing goes down?" Tonks asked as the elevator shuddered to a halt and the pair stepped out onto the earth scaffolding that served as the floor on this level.

"We've attempted several kinds of magical scans to try and measure when the pulse it continues to give off ends but so far even our deepest reaching scans have failed to find a finish point." The engineer replied. Tonks stroked her chin thoughtfully as she gazed at the Riddle Stone.

"How far have your scans reached?" She asked. The engineer gulped and fiddled with his collar for a moment before he replied.

"Two thousand metres down from surface level." He answered. Tonks spun around and stared at the man, her jaw moved up and down as she soundlessly mouthed words of disbelief. In her mind questions whipped around in a maelstrom of confusion. What was this thing, who built it, what was it made of?

"Wait, I'm no expert but if something is that far down doesn't that mean it's…" Tonks began.

"Correct, if our scans are correct the Riddle Stone sinks down into the molten rock beneath the earth." The engineer interjected. Tonks was speechless; she honestly didn't think anything like this was possible even at the highest magical level. There were of course spells that could withstand amazingly high heats and pressures but what this stone was doing far surpassed the limits of all the techniques she knew of. Then suddenly, from somewhere deep below, the stone shuddered and a long almost human groan was emitted from it.

"Merlin, what the hell was that!" Tonks demanded as she looked around in fright. The engineer next to her shrugged in response, looking equally if not more terrified than Tonks was sure she looked. Then without warning, screams echoed from below accompanied by bright flashes of light the same color as the stone.

"Merlin!" Tonks cried as she looked down, then across at the stone as something caught her eye. Four small beams of light shot out from the stone and focused on one point creating a ball of light. It didn't take Tonks' trained mind long to put two and two together and realize what was coming next.

"Move!" She cried as she dropped to the ground and rolled to the side. The engineer beside her was not as quick to react though, his face showing a look of confusion in regards to Tonks' actions as a beam of blinding light shot from the ball of energy and hit the man fair in the chest. He slumped to the ground a moment later, an enormous round hole seared through his torso. Tonks managed to re-swallow the last meal she'd had in time to cast a barrier spell in front of herself. The ball of light fired again, impacting with the barrier spell with such force that Tonks was sent flying into the chasm wall. Her head hit the earth with a nasty thud that caused her vision to blur for a moment. The ball of light wasted no time though, firing again and shattering the barrier spell into a million magical shards. Tonks spat blood from her mouth and forced her hand to make the correct movement as she apparated away. Despite her escape though, Tonks could still hear the haunting screams of the engineers and miners through the magical pathway she had created.

At Grimmauld Place the order re-held the meeting that had been interrupted by Harry's return the day before. This time though the proceedings were very different, consisting mainly of Harry attempting to explain what was happening to the magical world.

"I'm not sure what the creatures are or what they're known as, all I know is how they function and what they search for." Harry began. The eyes of everyone in the room were fixated on him as he spoke, something not lost on Hermione as she took a quick glance around. While everyone else was curious about his story, Hermione only wanted to know what had happened to Harry to make him the way he was. His black metal arm showed from under the cloak he wore as he was leaning on the table. Its mere presence made Hermione uneasy, along with the bandages still wrapped firmly around Harry's eyes. She longed to unwind them, see for herself what he was choosing to hide.

"You think the creatures are searching for something?" Remus asked, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. Harry nodded and turned his head in the direction of his former teacher.

"I know they are. The creatures seek out magic, the stronger the better, in order to eradicate it." He stated. All present in the room gave a collective gasp and then fell into silence for several long moments.

"How do you know they want to eradicate it?" Ron asked, finally breaking the thick quiet that hung around the room. Harry nodded to his best friend as if he were expecting the question and drew out his wand. He gave it a simple flick and a smallish book appeared out of thin air.

"This book mentions something about them." Harry explained as he flicked through to where a bookmark rested. "It says that they're creatures created to maintain a balance in the scheme of universal powers. In short, they hunt down wizards and other powerful magical creatures in order to maintain natural balance." He finished. Hermione frowned, then swallowed and finally spoke.

"Harry, that book, it's called "Magical Myths and Legends of Forgotten Times" isn't it?" She asked. Harry turned to face her and nodded, holding the cover of the book up for all to see as he did.

"At best that book contains a lot of nonsense and superstitious babble, Potter. I hope this isn't the only thing you're basing your theory on?" McGonagall asked skeptically. Harry closed the book and it disappeared abruptly.

"Whether you believe me or not is of little consequence. I've had to fight against these creatures for the last two years of my life, so I think I'm in a reasonable position to make assumptions." Harry replied coldly.

"Come now Harry, there's no need to get worked up. Professor McGonagall is only trying to…" Remus began.

"Forget it Remus." Harry interjected. The room then fell into stunned silence at Harry's sudden attitude change. "I'm only explaining this to you all so you know what is going to try kill you. I'm not here to ask for your help because quite frankly… most of you wouldn't survive what I need to do."

"Now listen here Harry, I don't know what you went through but I don't appreciate you looking down on us all like that." Remus said, standing as he did so.

"He's right though." Hermione said softly.

"What did you say?" Remus asked, a slightly hurt tone penetrating into his voice.

"I've seen these creatures in action and quite frankly they're… they're terrifying." Hermione finished. The room was silent again and Remus sat down.

Suddenly with a loud pop Tonks appeared above the middle of the table and crashed down onto it. Everyone stood up at once and began to help her, gently lowering her panting form into a chair and trying to calm her down.

"It killed them, it killed them all!" She cried, her pained eyes looking around hysterically as she struggled against the arms of Fred and George who were holding her down.

"Who Tonks, who killed who?" Remus asked. Tonks swallowed hard and seemed to try to compose herself.

"The Riddle Stone, it came to life and killed them all."


	9. Chapter 9

i "It killed them, it killed them all!" She cried, her pained eyes looking around hysterically as she struggled against the arms of Fred and George who were holding her down.

"Who Tonks, who killed who?" Remus asked. Tonks swallowed hard and seemed to try to compose herself.

"The Riddle Stone, it came to life and killed them all." /i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

by arukas

As Tonks' words echoed off the walls of the meeting room Harry spun on his heel and headed for the front door.

"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione called.

"Isn't it obvious, to the Riddle Stone." Harry replied without turning around.

"Not without me you aren't." Ron said as he threw his long coat on. Harry nodded at Ron, an appreciative if grim smile on his face.

"And me." Hermione added as she too pulled her coat off the back of her chair and put it on.

"Alright then, the three of us will go investigate the Riddle Stone site and report back here." Harry said. Several order members looked about to protest but Harry didn't give them a chance as he apparated out of Grimmauld Place with a loud pop. Hermione and Ron followed suit a second later leaving the other members to stand with mouths open.

Moments later Harry, Hermione and Ron stood at the top of the chasm that the Riddle Stone sunk into.

"Tonks was… what she said was true it would seem." Ron replied, swallowing hard as he finished speaking.

"This is horrible." Hermione breathed as she raised her hand to cover her mouth. "Did those monsters do this?" She asked. Harry shook his head as he stood right on the edge of the chasm and appeared to be looking down into it.

"The wizards down there have all died of wounds that burnt them, the creatures always kill by tooth or claw." Harry explained. Hermione was just about to ask how he could tell what kind of wounds the engineers had with those bandages when Ron spoke up.

"Merlin, that one over there has had his entire chest burnt out." He murmured.

"I don't know any spell that works like that." Harry said.

"Neither." Ron replied.

"Well, no sense in wasting time up here." Harry said nonchalantly as he jumped down to the first level of scaffolding six feet below the rim of the chasm.

"Right behind you." Ron called as he jumped down next to Harry.

"Are you two crazy?" Hermione cried from on the surface. Before anymore could be said though a strange wind rushed up from the ground, ruffling the hair and clothes of the trio.

"What in the..." Ron began. He was cut off though as he and Harry were forced to press themselves to the wall as a tide of winged gray bodies spewed forth from within the chasm and shot up into the sky.

"God in heaven." Ron breathed as the mass of wings and claws on gray leathery bodies shot of like a stream to the north.

"Where are they going?" Hermione asked as she pulled herself up off the ground. Harry leapt up out of the chasm, something both Ron and Hermione were impressed by, and looked up into the sky after the creatures.

"I can't know for sure, but there's only one major source of magic I can think of in that direction." Harry answered.

"Hogwarts." Ron said sternly as he too appeared from in the chasm.

"We have to tell the order!" Hermione cried. Harry shook his head.

"No time," He said, "We apparate to the edge of the grounds and make our way inside on foot."

"We'll be outnumbered hundreds to one." Ron said grimly.

"Not scared are you Ron?" Harry challenged. Hermione didn't like the way the two friends smiled at each other then as Harry and Ron seemed to communicated without words.

"Hermione, you go back to the Order and get together as many members and Aurors as you can." Ron ordered as he stepped forward to stand next to Harry.

"But you two will need me!" Hermione protested. This was insane, the two of them facing off against hundreds of those creatures?

"Hermione, don't argue. Our priority is and will remain saving the students. They're all but defenseless against those things." Harry said sternly. Hermione made to protest again but knew it was useless. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she nodded.

"Please be careful, both of you." She muttered before apparating away.

"The closest we can apparate to is halfway along the path from Hogsmeade Station." Ron informed Harry.

"Then that's where we go now." Harry replied. Seconds later the two disappeared and reappeared again on the gravelly pathway. "The creatures are resilient, nothing but the strongest death and injury spells will even phase them." Harry explained as he drew out his two wands. Ron nodded and drew his own wand.

"We need to move the students into a defendable room, I vote the Great Hall." Ron suggested. Harry nodded.

"I agree, now let's move." He said. As the two friends ran up the pathway towards the looming school in the distance a gray cloud spiraled ever closer. Both Harry and Ron knew it would only be a matter or minutes between when they arrived at the school and the creatures did. Time was not on their side.

Hermione apparated into Grimmauld Place with a loud pop and ran into the meeting room only to find it empty. Surprised, she next ran into the kitchen and found only Mrs. Weasley pouring hot soup into a bowl.

"Mrs. Weasley, where is everyone?" Hermione asked frantically.

"Oh Hermione, you scared me. They've all gone out pet." Mrs. Weasley replied calmly. Then as she looked into Hermione's eyes her face suddenly grew concerned. "Why, what's wrong?" She asked.

"It's Hogwarts, the creatures are going to attack Hogwarts!" Hermione all but screamed.

"Where are Harry and Ron!" Mrs. Weasley demanded, though in her heart she already knew the answer.

"They went to Hogwarts already." Hermione explained. Mrs. Weasley looked like she might cry.

"Merlin, not again. Not my babies again." She said, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she gave Hermione a pleading look.

"We need to get to the Ministry and get help for them now!" Hermione yelled, her desperation growing with each passing second.

"Of course dear, we'll go by floo." Mrs. Weasley said. Moments later both women were being hurled magically towards the Ministry of Magic and towards what Hermione hoped would be the help they needed.

Harry and Ron sprinted up the last few steps into Hogwarts and the Entrance Way.

"Eleven O'clock, they'll all be in classes." Ron panted. Harry frowned, deep in thought. Ron was amazed that his friend seemed to barely be out of breath. He considered himself to be extremely fit but obviously whatever Harry had been forced to live through had pushed him beyond normal limits.

"Alright then, you go to the classrooms and get the students and I'll go see McGonagall in her office." Harry said.

"Why me to the classrooms?" Ron asked.

"Simple, you look far less scary than I do." Harry replied with a lopsided grin. Ron grinned back and began running.

"Oh and Ron." Harry called.

"Yeah?" Ron asked, looking over his shoulder.

"First years first." Harry replied. Ron nodded and continued on his run, leaving Harry to make for McGonagall's office.

Back outside, the creatures' wings flapped tirelessly as saliva dripped from their giant maws filled with teeth. They could feel the huge concentration of magic ahead of them and it drew them ever onwards.

Hermione and Mrs. Weasley ran from the fireplace they were ejected from in the Auror admin section of the Ministry over to the front desk.

"Uh, can I help you two?" A surprised looking secretary asked.

"Hogwarts is under attack, we need all the help you can give us and we need it now!" Hermione demanded.

"Excuse me?" The women asked skeptically.

"Listen missy, my son is Ronald Weasley and he is currently the only Auror on the scene." Mrs. Weasley interrupted. Upon hearing Ron's name the girl seemed to snap to attention and nodded two the two women before running through another door behind her desk. Hermione noted that Mrs. Weasley had left out the part about Harry Potter returning from the dead also but figured it was the right idea in this situation. No need to complicate things further.

Professor McGonagall sat in her office calmly reading over a piece of parchment that had been handed to her earlier that day. An informant had gone to great lengths to sneak it out of the ministry to her, an action she certainly wouldn't be able to ask of him again for a long while. Suddenly she felt a strange rumble followed by an enormous crash resonating up the stairs to her office. Whipping her wand out of her belt, McGonagall flew down the stairs, quietly muttering defense charms to herself as she went. No one, not even in the days of the Weasley boys, had ever made such a terrible ruckus in the halls of Hogwarts. The sight that greeted her as she reached the bottom of the stairs however was not something she expected. Harry stood in the center of a pile of rubble that was attempting to slowly reassemble itself into what McGonagall guessed had been the gargoyle that guarded her office.

"Sorry, didn't know the password." Harry said as, with a simple wave of his wand, he dusted a stone hand that had gripped his ankle.


	10. Chapter 10

i Harry stood in the center of a pile of rubble that was attempting to slowly reassemble itself into what McGonagall guessed had been the gargoyle that guarded her office.

"Sorry, didn't know the password." Harry said as, with a simple wave of his wand, he dusted a stone hand that had gripped his ankle.

/i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

by arukas

"Harry James Potter, you're done some inexplicably stupid things in your life but this certainly rates among the most bizarre!" McGonagall exclaimed as she surveyed what remained of her office's guardian.

"Professor, the creatures that have been attacking us for the past days are on their way to Hogwarts in large numbers. Ron and I are currently moving the students to the Great Hall and I need you to assemble the teachers to defend them there." Harry said quickly. McGonagall barely had time to blink in surprise before Harry had run off down the hall with both his wands drawn. The creatures could be soon through the southern windows now as they moved as one giant.

"Merlin save us." McGonagall breathed as she took in the sight. Having survived two rises of the dark lord she had assumed herself to have seen the most horrifying life had to offer, she knew now that her assumption had been wrong. Unwilling to waste another moment McGonagall moved as quickly as she could back up to her office and her fireplace. This would be her most difficult act as headmaster; one that she hoped would not also be her last.

Ron bent over and sucked air into his burning lungs. The students had been reluctant to listen to him at first, especially as he moved up the year levels. They had all decided to listen however when reminded them that he was Ron Weasley and that if what was about to happen concerned him then they should all be concerned too.

"Sorry Ron, we don't have time to rest." Harry said in an even tone. Ron stood up straight, slightly startled that even the great Harry Potter was able to sneak up on him after all his hard years of training. He dismissed it though, there was a lot about Harry he didn't understand, never had and likely never would.

"Of course… I'm assuming you have a plan?" He asked, finally managing to will his body back into its normal heartbeat and breathing pattern.

"What is there to plan? They will come, we will fight them and either defeat them or die." Harry said matter-of-factly. Ron again found himself not understanding Harry, this time though it was the way he spoke so haphazardly about the concept of his own death. Ron was far too proud to back down now though, also his conscience held him to his promise of never abandoning a friend again.

"Where do you propose we fight them then?" Ron asked as he and Harry strode across the Great Hall. The students all around them stared at Harry; at his arm and his eyes and even at the strange clothes he was wearing. If he noticed it though, Harry showed no sign of discomfort.

"We engage them first outside the main doors, then retreat into the Entrance Hall if need be." Harry answered. Ron frowned and looked down slightly.

"Doesn't that place us rather close to the students?" He asked. Harry nodded his agreement but didn't so much as break stride.

"The creatures will home in on the concentration of magical energy caused by having all the students in the Great Hall. It's a trade off that is necessary to adequately defend everyone." He explained as he opened the doors to the Entrance Hall and closed them again behind himself and Ron. Teachers had positioned themselves along each side of the hall under windows while Professor McGonagall attempted to calm the student body. All around wands were drawn and the air almost hummed with magical energy.

"It attacked them you say?" Donald Flinders, the most senior Auror currently on duty, asked slowly.

"Yes, attacked and i killed /i every last one of them!" Hermione half shouted, her temper flaring up as she watched valuable seconds tick by.

"And how many creatures did you sight?" Donald asked. Hermione screamed on the inside.

"Thousands." She said tersely. Donald nodded one last time and turned away from Hermione. He had barely taken a step however before Mrs. Weasley spoke up.

"And where do you think you're going!" She demanded. Donald shrugged.

"I have to ask the minister for permission to commit so many Aurors at once." He replied. Hermione finally snapped and, drawing her wand, reduced the desk between her and Donald to a smoldering pile of ash.

"The creatures are heading to Hogwarts Mr. Flinders. No one can apparate within two kilometers of there, meaning anyone going there will not only need to leave now but also run the rest of the way there. I don't know about you, but I won't wait another second!" She cried before disappearing with a loud pop. Donald stood very still for a moment before he swallowed audibly.

"My son attends Hogwarts." He said, the fear clearly evident in his voice.

"Then Mr. Flinders, I have one piece of advice for you." Mrs. Weasley began. Donald looked up at her, his eyes betraying the wealth of emotion he was feeling. "Fuck the minister." Mrs. Weasley finished.

Outside Hogwarts' main doors, Harry and Ron stood solemnly as they watched the creatures close the last kilometers between themselves and the school.

"I never asked Harry, where'd you get the other wand?" Ron asked, his voice so calm it surprised even himself. Harry smirked, his face taking on an almost dangerous quality.

"It was Voldemort's, I figured he didn't have much use for it anymore." He sniggered. Ron was shocked at first at his friend's callousness but found he agreed with him. At this moment, with a near certain death only a few hundred meters away being proper seemed so unimportant.

"Fair enough." Ron replied. There was silence then as both wizards slipped into well-practiced combat stances. Ron suddenly realized he could feel the magical energy sliding around Harry. A quick glance sideways caused him to gasp despite himself as the air all around his friend shimmered and glowed a faint gold color.

"For Hogwarts." Harry stated.

"For Hogwarts." Ron echoed. And then the creatures were upon them.

Inside the Great Hall the noise was deafening as a high pitched screeching filled the air accompanied with a hail of explosions and the whistle of shrapnel flying through the air. A window close the entrance way shattered under the strain but was quickly repaired by a teacher. Professor McGonagall gripped her wand tighter and tighter; with each second that passed she wished more and more that Dumbledore were still alive. The old headmaster had always been so strong in the face of such adversities.

Suddenly an explosion, hundreds of times louder than the previous one, crashed around all the people inside the Great Hall. The building itself seemed to groan ad if from injury and the enchanted roof that always showed the scene outside shimmered, the image it portrayed becoming more ethereal.

"Merlin." McGonagall breathed.

"Headmaster, what's happening!" Professor Snape called across the room. Professor McGonagall gave Snape a look that said she dared not explain. The truth was that even she was terrified now. Hogwarts' defensive spells that had stood for centuries were failing. Soon all that would remain between them and the creatures outside would be stone, mortar and two brave wizards.

"That is, assuming they're still alive." McGonagall thought. She instantly chastised herself for thinking this though. She knew Harry and Ron would not fall so easily, the least they would accept from themselves was to hold out until help arrived. McGonagall ran that thought over and over in her head, trying to draw comfort from it. One fault existed though in her perfect logic, they had no way of knowing if help was even on the way.

Hermione ran her heart out as she neared Hogwarts. The sound of fighting filled her ears. She took it as a good sign though, as long as there was the noise of fighting then all was not lost. She was still hundreds of meters away though and could only see the creatures that circled above the castle. Occasionally they dived down to attack the castle or whoever was fighting them in front of it. Hermione knew it would be Harry and Ron that would be fighting even without needing to see. She had always joked that the two boys' egos would get them killed one day, though she had never been serious.

Ron ducked as a creature flew over his head. Without even thinking his body reacted and a quick wave of his wand turned the creature into a burning projectile that slammed into Hogwarts' great oak doors and exploded in a ball of fire. Before he could even feel good though more of the creatures were upon him, teeth bared and claws extended. He was forced to take a step back to give himself time to finish his barrier charm. The creatures exploded into flying blood as the magical net diced them into the smallest of pieces. By some miracle Ron held onto his lunch as the terrible smell assaulted his nostrils. Again there was barely time to think as more of the creatures swooped down on him, forcing him to think hard for half a heart beat before casting a powerful wind spell the sent all the creatures around him spiraling back. With finally a few seconds to think Ron glanced over at Harry. Despite the danger around him Ron watched in awe for a moment as Harry moved. His body never stood still at he ducked and weaved between opponents, casting offensive spells with one wand and defensive ones with the other. For a blind man, he could certainly fight.


	11. Chapter 11

i Despite the danger around him Ron watched in awe for a moment as Harry moved. His body never stood still at he ducked and weaved between opponents, casting offensive spells with one wand and defensive ones with the other. For a blind man, he could certainly fight.

/i 

b Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House /b 

by arukas

Harry grit his teeth as a creature came especially closed to him, forcing his fighting pattern to be altered. He had learnt long ago that the creatures, while powerful, were not overly bright and could therefore be fought with simple tactics. Every now and then though one would try something different and his unconscious movements would have to give way to quick thinking logic.

The offending creature met with a bone shattering rock that Harry levitated off the ground at incredible speed, sending both the rock and the creature spiraling into the air. Not half a second later Harry's magical arm began to ache, a pain he knew was not real as the limb had no nerves in it but rather was a signal to him that something was about to happen. Harry realized what it was as he sensed Hermione's presence approaching, she was three hundred… no two hundred metres away and running towards them. The creatures noticed her too and seemed to decide that she would be a much easier target than the two men they were currently facing. In one great movement of gray skinned wings they spiraled and dived towards Hermione causing the witch to stop dead in her tracks and gape.

"Ron!" Harry called. Ron nodded quickly and the two disappeared with a pop.

Hermione hadn't considered the consequences of her going to her boys aid; she had simply known it had to be done. But now, as hundreds of fearsome creatures bore down one her she suddenly realized the weight of her decision. She wasn't as good as Harry or Ron at fighting; she had become a librarian for Merlin's sake! What had she been thinking in coming here? She gulped and drew her wand, her mind screaming at her that this was the completely wrong decision. She knew in her heart though that she would not forgive herself if she ran.

"Pyros Malice!" She cried as balls of fire spewed from her wand, slamming into the creatures that flew towards her. Even as burning corpses fell to the ground though and Hermione dug deeper within herself, pushing more magical energy into the spell than she thought she had, the situation seemed hopeless as the creatures' numbers seemed overwhelming. Hermione clenched her eyes shut as the creatures drew within fifty meters of her and prayed to anyone that was listening to save her. Then her ears picked up the sound of two pops over the cries of the creatures.

"Finite Apocalyptum!" Two voices cried at once. Hermione's eyes snapped open and her eyes took in the phenomenal sight before her. Harry and Ron stood between her and the creatures, three wands pointed before them as a terrible roaring wind filled the air and drowned out all other noises. The air all around the two men seemed to shimmer for an instance before the magical energy appeared out of thin air in front of Harry and Ron and roared towards the creatures. The beam expanded until it was almost as wide as the approaching mass of gray skinned limbs and wings, slamming into the creatures with absolute silence as the life of everything it touched was taken away. Hermione had no idea that Harry had any knowledge of such an evil yet powerful spell let alone Ron. Although, considering Harry's use of the Finite Incantatum spell only days ago she accepted that there were likely to be a lot of things she didn't know about her two best friends.

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by a bright flash of light as the spell extinguished and exploded into a shower of smaller beams. For a brief moment Hermione was afraid the approaching spell would strike at them as well but her fear ebbed as the beams impacted against an invisible barrier that seemed to surround them on all sides.

"This is bad." Harry said quietly. Hermione looked at him in a confused manner, hadn't they won?

"I don't suppose you kept anything in reserve?" Ron responded. Hermione's fear returned as she looked between the men. In reserve for what?

"No, that barrier spell took the last out of me." Harry said as he collapsed to one knee.

"I doubt I even have enough energy left to apparate." Ron added as he too collapsed to his knees.

"What are you two on about?" Hermione asked, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke.

"Seventy one of the creatures remain." Harry replied simply as his body slumped forward and he supported himself by placing a hand on the ground. Hermione blinked in shock then looked forwards to where the creatures lay on the ground. Her heart froze as some of the creatures began to drag themselves upright again and stretched and flexed limbs. Some appeared to be injured already but Hermione drew little comfort from that fact.

"Well, I guess we found our limit at long last Harry." Ron said, a sad kind of laugh carrying through his words. Harry replied with the same laugh and a nod.

"It was nice to see both of you again." Harry said. Hermione felt tears sting at her eyes, was the situation really so hopeless? She could still fight, couldn't she? But both Harry and Ron, the two wizards she held the most respect for in this world, had given everything they had and still it wasn't enough. What could she possibly do? Suddenly a large male figure appeared between the trio with a loud pop. Hermione immediately recognized Donald Flinders and her heart leapt.

"Get down!" He cried. Harry and Ron responded quickly, both pressing themselves to the ground with speed Hermione thought they were no longer capable of. She was a little slower to react and only just hit the ground in time to avoid the barrage of spells that flew overhead and into the regrouping creatures. The winged beasts were caught completely off-guard by the attack and all but a few fell instantly. The remaining ones took to the sky but made it a few meters off the ground before there bodies too were shot to ribbons by the barrage of spells.

"Merlin…" Donald muttered as he stood up again. The trio and the commanding auror were joined moments later by approximately fifty aurors, each with wands still drawn as they surveyed the carnage before them.

"Better late then never I suppose." Ron grumbled as he too stood and joined Donald. "What kept you Flinders?" He demanded. The other man failed to respond though as he stared in shock at the mess of corpses littered around the Hogwarts grounds.

"How… how many do you estimate attacked here?" He asked after a long moment.

"Two thousand give or take a few." Harry answered as he stood and walked over to Donald and Ron.

"Two thousand…" Donald echoed. "What happened to the rest of your team?" Donald asked, his question directed at Ron.

"Team? Flinders, what are you on about?" Ron asked bewildered.

"The team you defended Hogwarts with sir." Donald replied. Ron's face darkened and he seemed about ready to strike Donald.

"There was no b team /b , Mr. Flinders. Hence why we requested back-up so desperately." Ron said, his voice laced with anger.

"Wait a minute, you expect me to believe that the two of you did all this?" Flinders asked, laughing with disbelief as he did. At that point Ron did hit Donald, hard. The other man fell backwards to the ground and rubbed his jaw.

"We wouldn't have had to if you'd come sooner." Ron replied coldly. "I'm going to check on the students, you coming Harry?" He asked. Harry nodded and fell into step beside Ron.

"Harry? Whose this Harry guy?" Donald asked Hermione as he sat up. Hermione looked down at Donald, evaluating him as she did.

"That, Mr. Flinders, is the famous Harry Potter back from the dead." She stated.


	12. Chapter 12

"_Harry? Whose this Harry guy?" Donald asked Hermione as he sat up. Hermione looked down at Donald, evaluating him as she did._

"_That, Mr. Flinders, is the famous Harry Potter back from the dead." She stated._

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

Professor McGonagall finally put her wand away as she watched Harry and Ron enter through the doors of Hogwarts. She had thought she could not possibly more proud and in awe of them after they had faced Voldemort together but now she realized she could be.

"Thank you boys." She said quietly as they approached her. She felt no need to say any more as she knew neither Harry nor Ron would want to be overwhelmed by gratitude.

"Any injuries?" Ron asked as he glanced around at the student body. Again all eyes seemed to train on Harry, specifically the black metal of his arm.

"Nothing more than some rattled nerves." McGonagall answered, giving a large smile as she did.

"We best get going then." Harry interjected. Ron looked at him puzzled.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Harry nodded and walked back towards the door. Ron frowned but followed his friend nonetheless. Professor McGonagall was left staring at the backs of the two heroes of the day wondering what could possibly be about to go wrong now.

"Wanna fill me in on where we're going?" Ron asked casually as he and Harry walked down the path away from Hogwarts.

"We're going somewhere?" Hermione asked as she joined the two of them. Harry nodded and turned his head to face his friends.

"We never got to finish investigating the Riddle Stone. Seeing as those creatures came from it, I think it would be a mistake to not take a look at it." He explained. Hermione and Ron nodded, the idea made a lot of sense. It was one thing to take care of the creatures but something still needed to be done about the stone before anything else bad could happen. Hermione smiled as the familiar feelings of camaraderie she used to feel when she was with Harry and Ron returned. The three of them were back together at last, working together again. She realized now that out of all the things she had missed in Harry's long absence, she had missed this the most.

"This should be far enough." Harry said, disappearing a moment later with a loud pop.

"The old Harry was never like this." Ron said, surprising Hermione as she was about to apparate.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"The old Harry wasn't this… he was never this cold." Ron said slowly. Hermione didn't like where this line of talk was going but couldn't help but agree with Ron. "I don't know what happened to him in all the time he was gone, but clearly something has changed him." Ron finished, his face becoming more and grimmer as he spoke. Hermione mused for a second that they had all changed over the past three years, Ron more than most judging by how well he was guarding his thoughts from her at the moment Hermione thought.

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Hermione replied. Without waiting for Ron to say anything else Hermione apparated to the Riddle Stone. The last thing she wanted to deal with now was what was wrong with Harry especially as she finally had him back after so long.

"You took your time." Harry said softly from behind Hermione as she reappeared. Hermione jumped but composed herself enough to hit Harry on the arm while he simply smirked in response to her outburst. Ron appeared a moment later and joined the two of them at the edge of the chasm.

"It certainly looks quiet at the moment." Ron said, though the concern in his voice betrayed what he truly thought of the whole situation.

"What's that awful smell?" Hermione asked as she held her nose in protest.

"That is the smell of cooked human flesh." Harry said calmly. Hermione looked about ready to lose her breakfast on the ground while Ron nodded his agreement to Harry. "It would seem that whatever the kind of magic that attacked the people down there was, it burned through their flesh rather than remove it by other means." Harry continued. Hermione swallowed audibly.

"Other means?" She croaked.

"Do you want to hold onto your last meal or not?" Ron chastised as he looked over the edge. "I take it you want to go in there then?" Ron asked, this time his question directed at Harry.

"At the very least we need to make sure no one has survived down there." Harry replied as he stepped over the edge and dropped the few feet onto the first level of scaffolding. Ron snorted lightly and shook his head.

"You could just admit you're curious instead of making up impossible excuses." He muttered under his breath as he too jumped down. Hermione hesitated for a moment before following her friends; the fear in her had now reached palpable levels.

"Are you sure it's safe down there?" She asked warily as she finally dropped herself down onto the scaffolding.

"Not in the slightest, in fact I imagine it's actually rather perilous down there." Harry called back as he flicked open the guard rail on the elevator and stepped on.

"You can wait here if you want to." Ron added as he joined Harry on the elevator. The two boys stared at Hermione expectantly as she shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly remembering just how it felt to be a very proud but scared little girl again.

"If you boys get us killed, there is no way I'm buying either of you a Christmas present!" Hermione cried in exasperation.

"That's so not funny Hermione." Ron sighed as with a wave of his wand he commanded the elevator to descend.

Deep within the Riddle Stone a shallow rhythmic beating suddenly filled the air. It was slow at first, barely more than one beat every ten seconds, however it gradually increased until each second another beat passed through the stone. Then the flashes of light began, caused by small arcs of electricity that ran along the edges of the different formations within the stone. These too grew in intensity as the shallow beating increased its pace. Then without warning, the whole stone groaned and was lit up all at once. Beams of light reflected of the well polished surfaces causing the stone to glow with an eerie light that seemed to have no starting point. And then it began to move.

Outside the stone Harry, Ron and Hermione gripped the railings of the elevator as the ground and everything else that surrounded them began to shake. The air was filled with a low groaning noise, almost as if an avalanche were making its way towards them.

"I was serious, no Christmas presents!" Hermione moaned as she struggled to keep her balance.

"Forget the bloody presents, look at the Riddle Stone!" Harry exclaimed as he pointed straight in front of himself. Hermione and Ron swallowed hard in unison as they realized what Harry was referring to. The entire body of the stone was rising into the air as if it were simply being lifted out of the ground by a giant hand. Suddenly the elevator jolted and the three friends were sent sliding to one side.

"This is probably a poignant time to get out of here!" Ron called as he apparated away. Hermione and Harry wasted little time in following and soon all three of them sat or stood a safe distance back from the whole and watched in awe as the giant stone continued to rise.

"Merlin, just how big **is** this thing." Ron said in wonderment.

"I'd say the part we can see so far is around one hundred, maybe one hundred and fifty metres in height." Hermione guessed with a shrug.

"It was a rhetorical question Hermione." Ron sighed.

"Three years on and you two still fight like kids." Harry laughed as he sat down next to Hermione.

"I don't see how you can laugh at a time like this." Hermione scolded. Harry shrugged and lay back on the grass.

"For now all its doing is rising into the air, what do we need to worry about?" He asked.

"What if more of those creatures come out of it?" Hermione demanded. Harry's attitude was puzzling her more and more today.

"Then we hope it's not as many as before, I doubt I could pull of that kind of spell again so soon." Harry moaned.

"She does have a point you know Harry, we should remain alert just in case." Ron chipped in. Harry shrugged from his horizontal position but made no other movements.

"I am alert, I just happen to also be lying down." He replied.

"Oi you two look! I think that's the bottom!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping to her feet as she did. Ron craned his neck and Harry sat up slowly as they all stared at the sight before them. The base of the Riddle Stone ended in a series of jagged formations, much like stalagmites in a cave.

"You ever seen anything like that?" Ron asked; his voice fading away as he spoke.

"Once, while I was gone, but never that big." Harry replied.

"It must be as big as Hogwarts." Hermione whispered as she too stared at the full shape of the Riddle Stone.


	13. Chapter 13

"_You ever seen anything like that?" Ron asked; his voice fading away as he spoke. _

"_Once, while I was gone, but never that big." Harry replied. _

"_It must be as big as Hogwarts." Hermione whispered as she too stared at the full shape of the Riddle Stone._

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

"What do you reckon its doing?" Ron asked as he looked up at the now motionless Riddle Stone. The giant pink rock remained suspended in the air about fifty meters off the ground, completely motionless.

"I'm hoping its not doing anything other than hovering." Harry muttered as he took a few steps back. The stone stretched so far into the air it was almost impossible to see the top from his current position.

"Since when has anything like this ever done something as innocent as hover?" Hermione complained as she tore her eyes away from the stone and looked back down the hole it had come from. "Bloody hell that's a deep hole." She whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"I think it's moving." Ron said slowly. Hermione shook her head and looked up again.

"It's just an optical illusion, like when it looks like a tall building is falling on you." She explained.

"Actually, I agree with Ron." Harry interjected. "It seems to be heading north slowly." Hermione frowned and concentrated on the Riddle Stone. It didn't seem to be moving to her… Becoming frustrated Hermione resorted to drawing her wand and placing it against her temple. Seconds later her vision was crossed with green gridlines and a faint glow surrounded the Riddle Stone. Sure enough the spell informed her that the stone was indeed moving North at 0.5 miles per hour.

"How the hell did you two pick up on that?" Hermione asked.

"Gridline spell." Ron replied.

"Pure skill." Harry joked as he looked down from the Riddle Stone and faced Hermione. "At least at this rate it will be easy to follow." He continued. The three of them were then silent for a long moment as they exchanged glances.

"I'm gonna assume from the current silence that we all know what's North of here." Ron sighed, his voice holding grave concern mixed with anger.

"Hogwarts." Hermione answered unnecessarily.

"We need to warn McGonagall." Harry stated. Ron and Hermione nodded and moments later all three apparated as close to Hogwarts as they could.

At Grimmauld Place, Tonks awoke with a start. Her eyes failed to focus as she sat up and she clenched them tightly closed and rubbed them with the backs of her hands. The fuzzy feeling at the back of her mind told her she had been hit with a sleeping spell; and a powerful one if she was any judge of them.

"'Bout time you woke up." Fred Weasley said. Tonks had become rather adept at telling the twins apart over the years, even when her eyes were only just starting to function properly again.

"How long was I under for?" She asked slowly, her mind taking time to form each of the words on her lips.

"I guess about 3 hours." Fred replied as he handed Tonks a glass of water.

"3 hours!" Tonks exclaimed, finally sitting up straight. Fred just shrugged though as if nothing was amiss.

"You were pretty messed up when you arrived so Charlie knocked you out, guess he hit you a little hard." He replied. Tonks mulled that line of thought around in her head for a moment before finally speaking again.

"So what's happened about the Riddle Stone?" She asked in a concerned tone. Again Fred shrugged.

"Last I heard it had spat out a heap of those gray creatures which Harry and Ron took care of." He answered.

"How many?" Tonks asked, her voice much calmer now. Fred stood up then and walked to the other side of the room.

"They didn't get a head count, but apparently two thousand according to this bloke at the Ministry. Tonks' face went pale and she looked towards the doorway of the room she was in. Every cell in her body felt compelled to walk out there and see what was happening for herself, but upon trying to move she found her legs felt heavy and unresponsive. Charlie Weasley was going to pay for this spell whether he knew it or not, this she vowed to herself.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked quickly up the main path to Hogwarts. Originally they had thought to run but as the Riddle Stone had never shown any signs of increasing speed the effort seemed wasted. Even from such a great distance though the stone could be seen hovering over the landscape. Hermione shuddered involuntarily as she looked back at it, its pink surface seeming to radiate its own light rather than reflecting that of the sun.

"I can just imagine the confused look on McGonagall's face when we tell her that her school is about to be attacked by a big _pink_ rock." Ron sniggered. Hermione heard Harry chuckle in response and she scowled at the boys.

"I hardly think now is the time for jokes, especially about such a dangerous topic." She scolded.

"Come off it Hermione, it's just playing around." Ron replied. Hermione was just about to retort when Harry cut in.

"Ron's right Hermione, what's the point of getting upset before bad things even happen?" He asked. Though she knew the question was rhetorical Hermione's brain still came up with several responses for it. "And more to the point, I had to put up with enough of you two fighting at school." Harry added, a smirk now playing across his features.

"Don't make any sudden movements." Someone called from behind them. Ron and Hermione looked at each other and complied as they noticed that several more people were now making themselves visible. "You two, put your wands down on the ground." The man continued; his voice steady and commanding. Hermione complied but suddenly the man's words struck home. Two, he had referred to them as 'Your two…'. Looking around Hermione realized that Harry had disappeared. But how had he moved that fast, he'd only been speaking a second ago. Then, out of thin air, blasts of intense white light struck out at each man. Of the six of them present three managed to duck or dive away from the spells in time unlike their less lucky companions. The man who had been speaking rotated on the spot and loosed a couple of spells at the spot they had been fired upon from and suddenly Harry and the shield charm surrounding him fazed into sight again. The man had little chance to do anything else though as Harry suddenly winked out of existence and appeared above the man, driving his knee down onto his shoulders and cursing him at point blank range as the two fell. The remaining two men fired wildly at Harry but he had already vanished again. Not half a second later both men were struck in the back by spells and fell to the ground as if they had no bones left in their bodies.

"We have to get out of here!" Harry called. Ron nodded and grabbed his and Hermione's wands. However just as he was about to make a move an angry voice called to them from the Entranceway of the castle.

"Mr. Potter! Just how many stupid things am I going to witness you do today!" McGonagall exclaimed.

"Professor, get back inside!" Ron cried as he tossed Hermione her wand and scanned the surrounding area for more attackers.

"Honestly Mr. Weasley I would have thought you of all people would recognize Ministerial Guards when you saw them." McGonagall sighed. Both Harry and Ron froze on the spot and stared at McGonagall.

"Ministerial Guards? The Minister of Magic is here?" Ron asked slowly. McGonagall nodded and folded her arms.

"Well they certainly weren't very good guards." Harry said casually as he surveyed the men he had taken down.

"Perhaps then you would consider offering me your services Harry." A familiar voice said from inside the castle. A tall and slender female then strode out to stand beside McGonagall. She radiated confidence from very pore as she looked down on the trio from her elevated position.

"Cho?" Harry asked in shock.

"I believe you mean to say Minister Chang." Cho replied smugly. Harry just shrugged though and wandered over to Ron and Hermione.

"Who in their right mind elected you as Minister?" He asked, though not to any specific person.

"If it's any conciliation mate, I didn't vote for her." Ron added. Cho fumed but Harry just ignored her as he turned to McGonagall.

"Professor, we need to speak with you urgently. That big pink thing in the distance, well it just so happens to be the Riddle Stone and it's coming this way." He explained.

Rather than respond though McGonagall put on her best teachers face and looked at her former students.

"All four of you, my office, now!" She ordered. Meekly the trio and Cho complied, following their former Professor up the stairs, past the gargoyle that had managed to pull half of itself back together and into the headmistresses office.


	14. Chapter 14

"_All four of you, my office, now!" She ordered. Meekly the trio and Cho complied, following their former Professor up the stairs, past the gargoyle that had managed to pull half of itself back together and into the headmistress's office._

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

"If I am understanding you correctly Potter, than you're saying that the thing we had come to know as the Riddle Stone has not only taken flight but is also headed here?" McGonagall asked as she removed her hat from her head and massaged her eyes. Harry looked at his former Professor from his position leaning against a book case and nodded.

"At the very least the Riddle Stone will pass over Hogwarts. Considering the fact that all those creatures attacked Hogwarts before we figured it seemed logical that it would try taking the school again." He explained. Cho gave a sarcastic laugh and turned to face Harry from the chair she was sitting in.

"So if you're so clear on what this thing is going to do, how do we stop it?" She asked. Harry frowned in response and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sniping at each other will achieve nothing." McGonagall said. Suddenly Ron stood up straighter than normal and pulled a small stone out of his pocket. As he held the stone in his hand he spoke occasionally though no sound came out of his mouth.

"Well Mr. Weasley, I'm sure Professor Flitwick would love to see you using a charmed communication stone." McGonagall said with a soft smile on her face. Ron's expression though was far grimmer than McGonagall's as he replaced the stone in his pocket.

"The Auror team that was moving with the stone has been fired at and forced to pull back." He explained.

"Do we have any idea when the stone will arrive here?" Cho asked after a lengthy pause.

"Thirteen hours, twenty six minutes." Hermione said, finally breaking her silence.

"Care to tell us how many seconds?" Cho replied snidely. Hermione leered at the other girl for a moment before both turned away in a humph.

"What did I just say about sniping?" McGonagall asked in an exasperated tone.

"Regardless of the time frame we have to prepare our defence of Hogwarts." Harry interrupted. "The students obviously need to be sent home." He continued. Professor McGonagall nodded her agreement.

"That would be the first sensible thing I have seen from you since your return Mr. Potter." McGonagall said.

"Speaking of that, what are you doing here Harry? Last time I checked you were classified as dead." Cho interjected.

"Well knowing the Ministry's efficiency levels I'd say I still am." Harry replied.

"Right, that's it! All of you out of my office and go to your former houses and spend some time thinking about how adults would act in this situation!" McGonagall cried. The four former students all shut their mouths abruptly and made haste out of the office, down the stairs and in their separate directions.

In the Gryffindor common room Harry reclined in what had always been his favourite arm chair by the fire. Fortunately for the trio it was currently second period and the students were in class.

"Fancy Cho showing up like that." Ron said as he slumped down on the couch. Harry nodded and stretched out.

"She should probably leave too; there won't be any room for people in the coming battle that can't take care of themselves." He said. Ron nodded slowly and folded his arms.

"So tell me Harry, what have you been doing to learn to duel like that. I mean, I always thought you were the kind to duke it out with honor but the way you took those guards out was almost devious. Wicked cool, but devious." He said with a smirk.

"I wouldn't mind knowing that myself." Hermione added. Harry smirked back at Ron, though his thoughts were unreadable due to the covering over his eyes.

"Well, I've pretty much had to fight those things day in, day out for three years. After a while I suppose I learnt how to fight multiple targets at once rather than using big wasteful spells or running away." He explained. Hermione and Ron nodded but neither seemed entirely satisfied.

"So how did you get the arm?" Ron asked after several long moments of silence. His tone was very serious and Harry's smile too vanished from his face.

"Ah, that." He said, looking down at his own arm and flexing the black and gold limb.

"I've never seen anything like it before, not even at St. Mungos or even the Department of Mysteries." Ron added. Harry looked uncomfortable and was saved by the sound of the school bell tolling.

"We should get out of sight until the students are sent home. Me especially." Harry said. Hermione nodded her agreement.

"Yes Harry, somehow I think the sight of the boy who died once again being the boy who lived might cause pandemonium." She said.

The trio stood and left the common room, quickly making their way out onto the grounds and down by the lake where they sat again. The ominous sight of the Riddle Stone had gotten obviously closer, the true magnitude of its size becoming clearer and clearer.

"What do you suppose it wants with Hogwarts?" Ron asked, shifting his weight so he was now squatting by the lake as he did. He began to pick up small stones from the ground and skip them across the water.

"To consume its magic." Harry replied. Ron stopped skipping rocks suddenly and Hermione ceased twirling the long grass in her fingers.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Ron requested, his voice steady but still sounding perplexed.

"The creatures, the stone obelisk, they both consume all magic they touch." Harry explained. Hermione snapped off the piece of grass in her fingers and screwed it up into a crushed green ball.

"That's impossible." She said after a moment. Harry and Ron both turned to face her, their eyes fixed on Hermione's own. At least Hermione assumed Harry's eyes were fixed on hers, the bandages of course made that impossible to determine.

"Why is it so impossible?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned at him, the look on her face telling him that he should already know this.

"Basic magical theory suggests that magic is not a finite resource in that it has no set volume and is not consumed by the process of utilization. Magic is therefore the only concept in existence that has causal powers without the need to expend resources." Hermione said, quoting directly from one of the textbooks in the library.

"Books only say that because no one has ever reached the end point." Harry replied. Hermione frowned indignantly, Harry had always believed her on these kinds of topics.

"Alright then Harry, you obviously know something we don't." Ron interjected. His own mind was becoming more and more confused at the idea of magical theory, he had personally always just accepted magic was there and never thought to question why.

"In the Riddle House there was a book, it wasn't sealed in any way and it actually looked like it had been read recently." Harry began. Hermione leant forward to listen and Ron sat back down from where he had been throwing rocks. "It suggested that we were thinking about magic in the wrong way. We always assumed it was something in us, some kind of energy we created. But this book suggested that magic was in fact alive, that it was the earliest and most advanced kind of life that existed as a self-replicating kind of energy." Harry said.

"Woah woah, back up. Self-replicating Harry? You mean like living cells?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.

"Not exactly, because it doesn't require a food source. As long as there is magic existing, more magic is created from it. Whenever we use magic, we draw on the force living inside us to do so. And the reason we might feel feint after using it too much isn't because we strain our bodies, its because we have come close to using up all of what makes us magical." Harry said. Ron blinked and looked up at the sky.

"So if I'm understanding you correctly, which I may not be cause that was weird, magic lives inside us witches and wizards and gives us these powers?" He asked.

"Sort of, though the book said magic existed in everyone. Witches and wizards are just those people who had a natural ability to harness it at will. The book also said that because magic is eternal, it's actually the light of our souls that is magic." Harry continued.

"Hold on a second, souls? Eternal life force? Harry do you really believe all that?" Hermione asked critically. The whole concept of it, magical souls and living energy, it was just so unbelievable. And she lived in a world where a tent could easily contain a sky-scraper.

"I'm not sure whether I believe it or not but I know for a fact that those things consume magic. I've seen them do it to… other people." Harry finished. Ron and Hermione both had burning questions on the tips of their tongues but held off. The look on Harry's face, even without his expressive eyes, was one of utter sadness and fear.


	15. Chapter 15

"_I'm not sure whether I believe it or not but I know for a fact that those things consume magic. I've seen them do it to… other people." Harry finished. Ron and Hermione both had burning questions on the tips of their tongues but held off. The look on Harry's face, even without his expressive eyes, was one of utter sadness and fear. _

**Harry Potter and the Cures of Riddle House**

by arukas

The carriages rumbled out of Hogwarts, each carrying a small group of frightened and confused students back to the Hogwarts express. At the same time hundreds of owls and enchanted letters left from the great school towers, making great haste towards the parents of the children. A general air of concern was hovering around the school as the teachers too were being given the option of leaving. No one had any idea, nor cared to hazard a guess as to what the Riddle Stone would do when it reached Hogwarts. No one except for Harry.

"We need to make a stand against it before it reaches the Hogwarts grounds." Harry protested. His voice was both exasperated and angry, a mixture Hermione remembered from many of their own discussions during the war with Voldemort.

"As I keep telling you Mr. Potter, that is impossible." A tall man with a beard and bald head, Hermione thought his name was Chris, explained for the third time. "The area all around Hogwarts is thick with forests, ravines and small mountainous areas. There is just no way we could deploy effective counter-measures on that kind of terrain. And furthermore we don't know if it can even breach the considerable defences surrounding the school." He continued.

"He has a point Harry, we have the most powerful spell-casters in the Ministry working on fortifying Hogwarts' already formidable magical defences. It makes sense to make our stand in an area where we have an advantage." Ron added. Harry sighed and stood from the chair he was seated in. Hogwarts' Great Hall had been rapidly transformed into a planning room with the giant table of sand from the Ministry at the center. Harry waved his hand over the table and the area around Hogwarts appeared with the Riddle Stone hovering in mid-air in the distance.

"I see your point and I understand it, honestly I do. To make a stand inside Hogwarts' ground, from the castle itself, it makes perfect tactical sense." Harry said. Everyone in the room nodded, well aware that a 'but' was coming. "But these creatures feed on magic, and Merlin knows what that stone can do." Harry continued.

"Hmm, the stone does present on oddity." Chris said. Having already been briefed on the nature of the wounds suffered by the winged creatures' victims and also having had to face some real horrors in his time, the idea did not seem entirely implausible that these creatures fed on a person's magic. It took all of his effort to force the image of the rapidly decayed bodies from his mind.

"Excuse me, creatures consuming magic? I should think someone as experienced as you Harry would know that you can't just 'consume' magic." Cho interjected. Hermione noticed the corner of Harry's mouth twitch. "And furthermore, why are we listening to you on this topic anyway? You're dead Harry, or don't you read the papers?" Cho continued. Harry's fist clenched and the sand image on the table faltered for half a moment as his attention waned. "I am the Minister for Magic, and I absolutely refuse to throw thousands of years of magical teachings out the…"

"Oh just shut up!" Harry cried. The air in the room seemed to quiver with energy for a moment and the potted plant behind Harry promptly shriveled and died.

"OUT THE window." Cho continued even louder, though visibly shaken as they all were by the sudden death of the plant.

"You are going to cost us even more lives." Harry said calmly. His warning hung thick in the air and all eyes turned to Cho.

"So you say." Was all she replied.

The meeting continued for another half an hour, for most of which Harry remained completely silent. The defences of the castle were all stationed around the walls, Aurors placed in teams of seven. For their part, Harry and Hermione stood in the center of the Hogwarts grounds, roughly equal distance from the castle and the Forbidden Forest. As neither of them were Aurors, they hadn't been included in the official deployment plans. Rather surprisingly, they seemed to have been forgotten all together.

"Where do you think Ron is?" Hermione asked quietly. Harry shrugged, it had been almost an hour since he had last said a word. Hermione frowned and kicked Harry in the shin.

"Ow, what was that for?" He complained.

"Just because you're stressed and pissed off at Cho doesn't mean you can ignore me! I'm just as anxious about all this as you are, if not more so." Hermione chastised. Harry opened his mouth but the look on Hermione's face caused him to shut it again quickly.

"Sorry." He muttered. Hermione rolled her eyes and stared off into the distance at the approaching stone.

"Were you really in that thing for three years?" She asked after a moment. Harry shook his head.

"No, I can honestly say I never got to actually inside it. Those things kept the tunnels beneath the old house pretty well guarded." He replied. Hermione's mind burned with questions, 'what had he lived on? Where had he slept? How had he not gone insane?'

"Did you miss me?" She asked suddenly, surprising even herself. Harry looked over at her. "I mean did you miss us, all of us out here." Hermione tried to cover.

"Every day." Harry replied. "And yes, I missed i you /i ." He added. Hermione nodded solemnly, knowing full well that there were probably things he would never explain to her about where he had been. That was Harry's way, need to know basis for his life. Suddenly the ground shook faintly and the sky was criss-crossed with all sorts of coloured rays. The magical cannon at the point of contact fired and the ground shook faintly again. Impacts occurred all over the stone but even with her magically amplified sight Hermione couldn't see any damage being done to it. Removing her wand from her temple she began to bite her bottom lip.

"It's not working is it?" She asked after a moment. The ground shook several times in short succession as the cannons from other stations were finally moved into positions.

"Spreading the line so thinly was a mistake. We should have all just moved out to meet it before it was able to get so close." Harry said angrily. Hermione felt the air around her grow slightly colder and despite herself she became a little frightened. Harry had seemed far less in control of his emotions since his return. Then suddenly there was a loud crack and a small piece of the Riddle Stone broke off and fell to the ground below.

"Merlin's ghost, they've done it." Hermione exclaimed. The cheers from the men and women fighting several hundred metres away were just barely audible. They came to a sudden stop though as a fast moving gray cloud poured out of the top of the stone and swept down towards them. Spells began flying every which way as the cloud dispersed and the creatures fell upon their victims. Cheers of adulation were replaced by cries of pain and terror and Hermione found herself horrified yet transfixed.

"The stone is still moving, nothing has changed." Harry said, the disappointment evident in his voice.

"Hate to say it Harry, but it looks like you may have been right." Ron said. Harry and Hermione both turned quickly and stared at their friend, until then unaware of his arrival.

"Would've thought you'd be down there in the fight?" Harry said, recovering his composure first.

"I was going to be but then I got held back to be part of the 'last line of defense'." Ron replied.

"Defense of what?" Harry asked.

"The room Cho and the other ministerial lackeys are in I suppose."

"Where's the sense in that?"

"Dunno mate, I just follow the orders."

"Boys, I think we need to do something here!" Hermione interrupted. Harry and Ron both stood somewhat to attention at the orders so forcefully barked at them. "Right, now who has a plan?" Hermione continued.

"Straight out of the Auror handbook, when fighting a large number of opponents you need to use the terrain to limit the potential of being overrun." Ron answered. Harry nodded and pointed towards the stone.

"If we hurry, we can try and intercept some of the creatures as they make their way over the Quidditch pitch and the surrounding mountains. Should provide some degree of cover to fight from." He explained.

"Right, you two go on ahead. I'm gonna apparate down to the first line and see who I can rally together and meet you up there. Maybe we can get one of those cannons in place to try stop that bloody stone." Ron replied.

"I hope so mate, cause I certainly don't like our odds if the stone gets to Hogwarts." Harry added. Ron nodded curtly and disappeared with a pop, leaving Harry and Hermione alone again.

"Let's go then." Harry said.

"Wait." Hermione said quickly. Harry looked at her curiously, though with his eyes hidden behind the bandages his expressions were hard for Hermione to read.

"I don't know if you remember this, but I made you something once to hold your hair out of your eyes on your broom." She said. Harry looked thoughtful for a moment but then smiled.

"The lions that roar at each other." He said happily. Hermione nodded.

"I've never quite forgiven you for saying that when you first got it, making my hard sewing seem so childish." She chastised.

"Sorry about that." Harry replied meekly. "But seriously Hermione, how is that relevant to now?" He asked. Fishing in her pocket for a moment Hermione produced a small maroon sash and handed it to Harry. Two embroided gold lions roared across the front of it, their mouths and paws raised to each other.

"I thought you could wear this over your eyes, rather than those horrible bandages." She said, a slight blush creeping onto her face. Harry smiled and looked away.

"Sure." He replied, his voice sounding a little nervous. "We'll apparate to the south side of the Quidditch pitch." He added. And then he was gone.


	16. Chapter 16

i "I thought you could wear this over your eyes, rather than those horrible bandages." She said, a slight blush creeping onto her face. Harry smiled and looked away.

"Sure." He replied, his voice sounding a little nervous. "We'll apparate to the south side of the Quidditch pitch." He added. And then he was gone. /i

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

Hermione ducked behind a large boulder as the creatures whizzed past her hiding place and soared up into the sky again. She fired the most powerful destructive spells she could think of after them, managing to hit a few. The beasts fell from the sky, their bodies contorted horribly from the pain of their injuries. Suddenly the area was awash with a pink light that was so bright it even over-powered the sunlight. Peeking out from her hiding place Hermione gasped as she saw Harry, his body suspended above the ground by an unseen force, firing curses in all directions. His arms moved completely independently of each other as his body flipped and twisted in mid-air to avoid the incoming attacks. A quick succession of popping sounds behind Hermione caught her attention and she realized that back-up had finally arrived. Glancing over her shoulder she caught sight of Ron and a small cluster of Aurors before they too were forced to take cover behind anything close by.

"Ron and the others?" Harry asked as he landed gracefully next to Hermione and pressed himself against the boulder for cover.

"Down the ridge a little, there aren't many of them though." Hermione replied. Harry nodded and leant out from behind the safety of the boulder. He was able to fire off three spells before being forced back into hiding as the creatures swooped past.

"Did you see if they had one of the canons with them?" He asked calmly. Hermione thought hard and shook her head.

"Didn't see one, though I can't say I know what something like that should look like." She replied, loosing off a spell of her own as one of the creatures changed direction in mid-air and came towards them. It fell to ground with a screech as the spell hit and came skidding to a halt next to Hermione's foot. "Do these things ever stop coming at you?" Hermione complained in exasperation and a little fear.

"Not in my experience." Harry replied. "The canon is a long barrel, about as wide as my arm." Harry explained. Hermione couldn't help but cringe as Harry mentioned his arm and the image of the cold black metal was drawn to mind. "It just sort of floats along next to whoever it's charmed to." Harry finished. Hermione nodded and forced herself to focus. Peering over her shoulder she gazed down to where the Aurors were hiding. She couldn't see anything at first but then a man she didn't recognise half stood and fired off a curse. Just before he ducked back behind the ridge he was hiding under though Hermione saw it, the long ornate barrel strapped to his back.

"They have one!" Hermione exclaimed gleefully. Harry nodded.

"Right then, we need to get down there to them. I'll cover you, go when I say." He said. Hermione nodded and glanced down to where the others were. Ron was standing now, his face a mix of concentration and exasperation at their seemingly never ending enemy.

"Ready… go!" Harry cried. Hermione leapt out from behind the boulder and sprinted as fast as she could. Behind her she could hear the deafening screech of the creatures as they came swooping after her. Then came the explosions, only a few at first but they quickly compounded till they were almost deafening. Skidding to a halt as she reached the ridge, Hermione pivoted on her heel and raised her wand. Her hand moved as if by instinct, the incantation necessary for the powerful spell she was casting was drowned out though as the explosions grew in magnitude. The sight before her almost broke Hermione's concentration as Harry fired spell after spell into the creatures that came at him. He was stepping backwards quickly and Hermione realized she only had a moment or two to finish. With one final flick she pushed all the magic she could muster into the spell and flung her arm outwards. The air around Hermione's wand ignited in a brilliant white light and a deafening roar rose up as air rushed into the vacuum her spell was creating. Harry flashed past Hermione at the same moment as the spell released and shot towards the swirling mass of creatures. It was a bright white arrow and it flashed across the rocky terrain with such force that the ground around it shattered with the force.

Then suddenly a strong pair of arms grabbed her around her mid-section and Hermione was pulled down below the cover of the ridge. She let out a slight gasp from the shock of it but was thankful for the rescue as the spell detonated above them all. The roar was deafening, bright light and howling winds accompanied the flashes and arcs of energy being unleashed. Pieces of debris flew over the ridge and Hermione feared for a moment that the spell had been too much and she had somehow doomed them all. But then the wind died down and the light faded. Next to her Ron shook the dust from his hair and grinned.

"Fuck me Hermione, that was amazing." He exclaimed. Hermione smiled back appreciatively.

"Where did you learn something like that?" Harry asked as he peered over the ridge. Hermione shrugged and allowed herself to indulge her ego a little.

"Just something I picked up, you're not the only one who's become stronger Harry." Hermione said. Harry nodded but his face still looked concerned.

"You certainly dealt them a harsh blow, but we're not out of this yet." He said. Hermione felt herself deflate a little.

"They survived?" She asked exasperated.

"Only a few, but more are on the way. Look up." Harry explained. Above the ridge the group were huddled under the Riddle Stone hummed to itself and a gray cloud was beginning to form above it.

"Merlin they're coming again." One of the Aurors breathed. Harry nodded as he quickly dispensed with the few remaining creatures on the ground.

"We need to target the stone, can you all keep them off me for thirty seconds?" Harry asked. Ron, Hermione and the Aurors all exchanged worried glances. The creatures were manageable if everyone fought as well as they could but having to defend a stationary target changed everything.

"Not a second longer." Ron said finally. Harry smirked and nodded.

"Good, give me the cannon then." He said. The Auror with the cannon strapped to his back shrugged and un-slung the long barrel, handing it too Harry. Hermione felt nervous about this plan, Harry was obviously the strongest fighter they had and now they would be forced to do without him.

"That thing didn't do us much good last time." One of the Aurors warned. He had a shallow wound across his chest and a deeper one in his shoulder.

"I'll be targeting the hole you already made; hopefully I can do enough damage where it's weak to bring it down." Harry said. He flicked one of his wands and the barrel began to levitate in front of him.

"And if you can't." The Auror asked. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as everyone stared at Harry awaiting his response.

"Think of your loved ones." He said sadly. There was another moment of silence as everyone considered this proposition.

"You better not miss Harry." Ron said, "Cause if you die out here and I don't, my mum will kill me."

"Alright then." Harry replied. "When I start charging up this cannon, I'll be the biggest single source of magic in the area so the creatures will come towards me. Should make it slightly easier to defend me that way." He added. Everyone nodded and steeled themselves for what was to come.

"Let's go." Hermione said.

Inside her temporary office within Hogwarts, Cho gazed out the window at the approaching stone. It was a magnificent sight to behold if one could get past the fact that it was killing everyone around. The raw magical power that must have been required to move something of that size was inconceivable to Cho and the thought of being able to tap into it excited her. It would really enforce her position as Minister if she were able to harness the things power for the good of the wizarding world. Of course the casualties that were occurring along the way were unfortunate but expected.

"As with all great advancement there is a price to be paid." She muttered.

"Minister Chang?" An aid called. Cho composed her best sorrowful face and turned around.

"Yes, what is it?" She asked.

"We've stopped receiving updates from our Auror teams Minister; I think we are forced to assume they have fallen." The aid said. Cho turned away in mock grief and sighed.

"Why are the creatures attacking the ridge near the Quidditch pitch?" She asked in her best bereaved voice.

"We're not one hundred percent sure but it is believed a small band of non-ministry wizards and witches made their way up there." The aid replied. Cho clenched her fist in frustration.

"Harry Potter." She breathed.

"What was that?" The aid asked. Cho shook her head dismissively.

"Nothing. Put a call in for a more advanced task force to be sent here immediately and have them move into position around the castle. Hogwarts must not fall." Cho said.

"At once Minister." The aid acknowledged before running off to complete the task. Cho sighed again to herself and walked back over to the window. A bright flash over by the battle site caused an after image on her retina and she couldn't help but be impressed. Whoever was fighting down there was doing her a colossal favour, especially if they won.

Up on the ridge, Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other Aurors moved out from their cover at last. Harry took up a position in the center of the others and began to wave his wands slowly.

"Thirty seconds Harry, take any longer and I'll kill you myself." Ron said. The creatures that had been circling above the Riddle Stone took notice of the group suddenly and began to spiral downwards in a terrifying, screeching swarm.

"This is mad." Hermione mused.


	17. Chapter 17

"_Thirty seconds Harry, take any longer and I'll kill you myself." Ron said. The creatures that had been circling above the Riddle Stone took notice of the group suddenly and began to spiral downwards in a terrifying, screeching swarm._

"_This is mad." Hermione mused._

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

The sound was unbelievable, as if every creature were intent on killing their opponent by bursting their eardrums. Hermione tried casting a spell on her ears quickly to block the noise but it had no effect. She was forced to take a step back and fire a rapid succession of spells as five of the winged beasts zoomed past her and towards Harry. The creatures combusted in midair and all that reached Harry were clouds of ash that landed at his feet. On Harry's opposite side Ron had already downed seven of the creatures and had two more circling above him. One of the aurors, the one with the wounds to his chest and shoulder pressed himself flat to the ground and then rolled sideways as the creature dove down on him. Fang and claw smashed at the ground as the auror continued to roll just out of the way. The only female auror among the group suddenly took notice and cursed the creature so hard its head flew off its shoulders.

The man on the ground was about to turn to thank her but was too late. A long hooked claw exploded out of her chest and her body was whipped upwards. The auror made a gurgling noise as she tried to scream and flapped her arms and legs weakly.

"Annie!" The man on the ground cried. Before he could act however another creature was upon him and his attention was occupied. Hermione gasped as she saw the woman rising, two, three, four metres into the air. She cursed the creature causing the bones in its arms to turn to liquid. It howled in pain and released Annie, her limp form falling to the ground awkwardly and with a terrible thud.

"Hermione!" Harry called out. Spinning on her heel Hermione was only just in time to curse the creature that was lunging for Harry. "Ten more seconds!" Harry called out to no one in particular as he leaned back slightly to avoid the falling creature. The magical cannon in front of him was beginning to glow bright red as the energies flowing through it fought to be released. Still though Harry pushed more energy into it, as much as he could muster. This shot had to work, they wouldn't last long enough to have another one.

"Harry, we can't hold them anymore! Fire already!" Ron cried out as he was forced to hit the deck as ten or more of the creatures swooped on him at once. Harry nodded and all at once the world seemed to slow for a fraction of a second. The runes on the cannon aligned themselves along the barrel, the creatures swooped towards Harry and the whole world turned to different shades of pink. Then suddenly the world returned to normal pace and the cannon fired.

Blindingly bright light shot out as a single beam. The air around it ionized and the smell of ozone would soon follow. The creatures screeched louder than ever and pulled away, soaring high into the air. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast simply ceased to exist as the raw magical energy tore through the air towards the Riddle Stone. Then with an unbelievable clang, like a metal saucepan big enough to fry the castle in being dropped, the beam impacted with the Riddle Stone and exploded. The light from the explosion flashed and disappeared, allowing the group of fighters to see for a moment the gaping hole in the side of the stone. For some strange reason though the creatures remaining in the air were all being thrown away from the stone with horrific brutality.

"Backlash, down!" Ron cried, catching on first to what was coming. In a flurry of panic everyone present flung themselves down and behind the cover provided by the rocks. Hermione spun on her heel and made a move for an outcrop to her right. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw it, ripping along the ground towards them, like someone had picked up the world like a table cloth and was shaking it. It was obvious immediately to her that she wouldn't make it to her shelter in time, she was going to be obliterated like the creatures nearest to the ground had been. Then a powerful arm, Harry's metal replacement, grabbed her by the collar and yanked her backwards from where she stood and down into the hole he was in. Her head impacted on the wall and she saw stars as the blast smashed through overhead. The noise was deafening like nothing she had ever heard before. It was like all the windiest storms she had ever known were rushing by at once. Were it not for the powerful and obviously well braced pair of arms holding her in place she was sure she would be ripped into the air. Eventually she became aware of her own scream, though not from its noise. The rush of the wind in her ears was such that all she could hear was it. Then as suddenly as it had come it was gone.

"Merlin…" Ron breathed. Hermione realized then that he was crouched in the hole along with her and Harry.

"Did we do it?" One of the aurors called as he stood from his hiding place a few feet away. The devastation all around them was frightening; Hermione supposed this was what it looked like after the bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. The ground between them and the now stationary stone was torn up and cracked, every speck of greenery and life smashed into pieces. Here and there was a smear of blood, a stray body part of in one or two places a flayed skeleton of the hideous creatures.

"Harry did all this?" Ron asked, not really to anyone in particular. The group began picking there way through the rubble towards the Riddle Stone.

"No, even as hard as I was pushing into the canon there was no way I could have done all this. It was the stone." Harry explained.

"What did it hope to achieve by doing this? Some kind of defence mechanism?" Ron asked.

"I don't think so, more like a very powerful kind of magic being broken." One of the aurors said.

"We're all just speculating, what we need to do is figure out if the thing is really stopped." Hermione said in an attempt to bring them back onto track. The group stopped several hundred metres from the stone and stared up. Even at such a distance it was awesomely huge, though now that it had a hole in its side and was smoking profusely it didn't look quite as threatening.

"Is it… is it falling?" The same auror asked. Hermione creased her brow and again applied the scoping spell to her eyes.

"He's right; it's drifting back to the ground…" She breathed. Was it possible? Had they done it?

"Where's it going to touch down?" Ron enquired. Hermione squinted her eyes and the information magically flowed into her mind.

"On the path between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, approximately two hundred metres outside of the school grounds." She relayed.

"Right, we need to re-group and plan our next move. For now at least the thing seems to be silenced." Ron ordered. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed by his authority, at least something positive had come out of his years of self-imposed punishment. He was turning into a fine leader.

"We should investigate the site; make sure it's down for good." Harry protested.

"Agreed," Ron began, "But in case you haven't realized our little group is in no condition to mount any kind of operation." He countered. Harry looked about to protest but looking around he nodded grimly. Of there original group of fighters, only he, Ron, Hermione and three of the other aurors remained and all looked worse for wear.

"You have a plan?" He asked. Ron nodded and turned to one of the other aurors.

"Go to the minister, tell her what has happened and get a perimeter set up around that thing. No one goes within fifty metres without my approval first… oh, and keep Harry's presence quiet if you can." He ordered. The auror nodded and apparated away, leaving the small party to contemplate the stone.

"Now what?" Hermione asked after a moment.

"We set up an initial secure area and… and bury the dead." Ron muttered.

Tonks looked up at the stone wearily, last time she had been anywhere near the thing it had almost vapourised her. Now though everything seemed different. The faint glow the stone had given off before was gone and even the smoke that had poured out of it for so long had finally stopped. The hastily erected border around the stone hummed with activity by contrast as all manner of ministry officials raced around running tests and keeping away press and other on-lookers. Tonks sipped at her coffee, her third for the night and it was only ten thirty.

"Nymphadora, the press conference is about to start. You wanna listen in?" Someone asked her. Tonks sighed and nodded, taking once last glance up at the stone before making her way over to the ever-growing crowd in front of a hastily put together stage. The stone loomed ominously in the background, its enormous mass having sunk it deep into the soft ground as it had touched down. It stood as if to attention, as if it to were waiting to here the Minister's announcements.

"Good evening everyone, I understand you must have many questions but first the Minister would like to read a statement." An aid said. Cho Chang took the stage then and a hush fell over the assembled public and press.

"Let me begin by offering my condolences to those who have lost loved ones to this abomination and praise for the bravery of these who stood against it," Cho began. Tonks mused that she wasn't Minister for nothing, she knew how to give a good speech.


	18. Chapter 18

"_Let me begin by offering my condolences to those who have lost loved ones to this abomination and praise for the bravery of these who stood against it," Cho began. Tonks mused that she wasn't Minister for nothing, she knew how to give a good speech._

**Harry Potter and the Curse of Riddle House**

by arukas

Away from the nervous energy that was the scene around the Riddle Stone, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat quietly in Gryffindor common room. The fire crackled away to itself, providing the only real noise in the room. Hermione busied herself by writing a letter, more like a report of sorts, to Lupin and the other Order members. She assumed they would be interested to know what had really happened rather than hear Cho's version. She did however gloss over some of the details, the spell she had used to hold the creatures back being one of them. The gruesome nature of the casualties they had suffered being another. She shuddered a little as the images of those creatures ripping into people forced their way into her mind and lodged themselves in firmly.

"We need to investigate the stone." Harry said. Hermione jumped in surprise at the sudden noise while Ron just leaned forward, a dangerous smirk on his face. Ever since the battle with Voldemort he had changed; not necessarily for the better she thought. He was almost reckless with his life now, taking on the most dangerous assignments at work like he was testing himself. It was almost like he was pushing his luck as far as it would go, like he was searching for the situation that would push him to the limit.

"Was wondering when you were gonna suggest that. Count me in." Ron said. Harry nodded at him and Hermione felt her blood run cold and then boil in rapid succession.

"What's the matter with you two? We almost get killed fighting those things and that stupid stone and now you want to go rushing into it just to have a look around?!" She exclaimed.

"We need to make sure more of those things aren't just gonna come flying out at any moment." Ron countered.

"And we need to make sure the stone is down for good." Harry added. Hermione scowled at both of them.

"You're both so stupidly reckless, why are you so keen to die?" She demanded. Instantly she felt hollow; she had just got Harry back and now she was talking about him dying again.

"Who said anything about dying? I don't intend to do anything of the sort." Ron protested. Hermione's moment of contemplation ended and she rounded on Ron.

"Oh don't give me that, you've been taking stupid risks ever since that night!" She cried.

"Come off it Hermione." Ron muttered. He stood and walked over to the fire.

"What about the Baxter Manor incident? All those inferi, you were in the hospital for five weeks!" Hermione complained. Ron sighed and turned to face her.

"So? I'm fine now right? Get off your high horse Hermione, you can't control my life anymore. You walked away from that a long time ago." He spat. Hermione recoiled hurt; why had be brought that up? Harry remained sitting in his chair but his face was creased with confusion now. The lion-trimmed bandana did look much better Hermione thought absently.

"Ron…" She sighed.

"Forget it. I'm going in to work for a while, have some reports to write. I'll be back in a few hours okay Harry?" Ron called over his shoulder as he walked out of the portrait hole.

"Sure." Harry called after him.

"Ron wait!" Hermione demanded but he didn't stop.

"I think I missed something." Harry said after a long moment of silence.

"How could you just let him walk out of here?" Hermione demanded, ignoring Harry's statement. She didn't want to talk about that, not right now.

"I'm pretty sure he's old enough to make his own decisions now Hermione." He countered. Hermione fumed and smashed her fist down on an unsuspecting table.

"I know that you git, but that doesn't mean he's not going to get himself killed!" She cried angrily. Harry remained impassive despite her explosion and for a moment Hermione wondered whether something more was wrong with him.

"Harry? Hoo-ooo, you in there?" She called, waving her hand in front of his face as she did.

"That's pretty pointless you know, waving you hand like that." He said with a smirk. Hermione recoiled as she realized her mistake.

"Oh right… I guess it was." She muttered.

"What happened between you and Ron?" He mentioned again. Hermione rolled her eyes and flopped down into one of the old armchairs.

"Fine, ignore my concerns. I think it's about time you two grew up and stopped looking for the next big adventure already." She muttered.

"That's not fair." Harry said softly. Hermione looked over at him then and sighed; his expression was hard to read with the cloth over his eyes but still she thought she knew what he was thinking.

"I didn't mean it to come out like that." She replied.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. You told us not to go in, to wait for back up at the very least." He conceded.

"So why didn't you listen to me?!" Hermione cried, her emotions finally spilling over the barrier she had built up over the years. Three long years, for three long years she had been wanting to ask him that question! Wishing against all logic that he would just walk up behind her one day.

"Hermione…" Harry began.

"No! Don't you Hermione me! Do you know what we went through, what I went through?" She demanded. Harry furrowed his brow.

"Do you know what losing you did to me?" She continued. Suddenly she realized what she was saying and gasped; had he noticed.

"That's why you and Ron aren't together." Harry said knowingly. Hermione gulped and looked away, her cheeks warming slightly.

"I didn't say that." She defended.

"So the two of you were together at one point?" Harry guessed. Hermione sighed and flopped down onto the beaten old couch in front of the fire. It was several long moments before she could bring herself to look at Harry; he had trapped her, rather well actually, she mused.

"Yeah, for a little while we were. Happy now?" She sighed. Harry surprised her by shrugging and looking away.

"I'm not sure." He replied mysteriously. Hermione frowned and took a moment to plump the pillows on her chair.

"Don't try and act all cool and mysterious around me Harry Potter." She chastised when she was satisfied her chair was comfortable. Harry shrugged again and leaned back in his own chair, resting head against the frame.

"I'm glad you never forgot about me." He said softly.

"What?" Hermione whispered back, not quite believing what her ears were telling her he had said.

"That is, I'm glad you never gave up on me." He corrected, turning to 'look' at Hermione.

"Oh Harry." Hermione gushed as she leapt out of her seat and threw herself into his arms. She encircled him in a fierce hug, squeezing tight around is firm shoulders and chest. His metal arm was cool and hard compared to the rest of him but she found she didn't care. He was here, he was actually here! She kept reminding herself that he had been back for a while now, that she shouldn't be so emotional all the time. But somehow she couldn't control it, couldn't keep it all bottled up anymore. For three long years she had wondered what had become of him; the first had been the hardest of course, during which time she had scoured ministry readouts and ancient tomes for any information on the dome that had incased Riddle House. "I'm just so glad you're safe now." She sobbing, wondering when it was she had started crying. Slowly Harry's arms moved to encircle her, his limbs seemed unsure of where to come to rest but finally settled on the small of her back. His hug was gentle but reassuring and she could feel him smile.

"You must have changed a lot Hermione if you consider fighting those creatures across the grounds of Hogwarts safe." He teased.

"Oh shut up." Hermione replied, slapping him playfully on the chest. "You. Do not. Get. To make. Jokes." She said, punctuating each word with another blow to Harry.

"Alright, alright I yield." He cried as he brought his good arm around to defend himself.

"Damn right you do." Hermione huffed as she put her hands on her hips and lorded her victory over Harry.

"Come here." Harry said casually as he extended his arms. Hermione suddenly realized she was sitting on his lap still and the faintest of blushes crept onto her cheeks as she eased down into another hug. Unlike the last one though, which had been desperate and emotional, this one was slow and comforting. Harry's arms immediately snaked around her, one landing on her lower back and the other sinking into her hair; his fingers playing with the long curly locks they found their. Hermione sighed contentedly as she enjoyed the loving embrace. She and Harry had always enjoyed such wonderful hugs, it was as if the two of them had a special gift to make the other feel better with the simple gesture.

"I missed being able to do this." She whispered.

"Hugging?" Harry asked.

"Everything." Hermione corrected as she snuggled down lower and rested her head on Harry's chest.

"Me too." He replied softly. But Hermione had already stopped listening, in fact she had forgotten altogether the words they had just exchanged. She pressed her head firmly into Harry's chest, her arms squeezing him slightly in an effort to make them as close as possible.

"Harry…" She breathed.

"Hmm?" He replied innocently. Hermione strained her ears to their limit, willing her mind to block out the sounds of the fire crackling and the rhythmic tune of Harry breathing. Where was it, why couldn't she hear it? Her face went pale so quickly she felt the change; her whole body suddenly felt very cold and the cool metal of Harry's replacement arm suddenly felt more hard and ungiving than ever. Terror shot through her body and she had to stifle a cry.

"What is it?" Harry asked, the concern obvious in his voice, as he picked up on her sudden mood change.

"Harry…" She whispered hoarsely, "Why can't I hear your heart beating?!"


End file.
